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NOTES 



ON 



CENTRAL AMERICA 



PARTICULARLY THE STATES OP 

HONDURAS AND SAN SALVADOR: 

THEIR GEOGRAPHY, TOPOGRAPHY, CLIMATE, POPULATION. 
RESOURCES, PRODUCTIONS, etc., etc., 

AND THE PROPOSED 

HONDURAS INTER-OCEANIC RAILWAY. 

BY E.^G.'SQUIER, 

FORMERLY CHARGE D'AFFAIRES OF THE UNITED STATES TO THE REPUBLICS 
OF CENTRAL AMERICA. 




s-r/r/ 



©rfflfnal JiSaps anU Sllusttatfons. 



NEW YORK: 

HARPER <fe BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUARE. 

1855. 



Entered, according lo Act yf Coij^i\;oo, ia tac yiziw oi^c Lli.u^auu ci^iii 
linndrcd and Cfiy-fivo, by 

11 An PER <fc BROTHERS, 

in tbe Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of 
New York. 



.'■-' 




//:3 



TO 



CARL RITTER, 



GEOGRAPHER, 



BY THE AUTHOR. 



CONTENTS. 



Geographical Introduction Page v 

NOTES ON CENTRAL AMERICA. 

Chap. I. Geographical and Topographical Features of Central America, 

and their Influence on Population 17-24 

Chap. II. Observations on the Climate of Central America in general. 25-38 
Chap. III. Population — Guatemala, San Salvador, Honduras, Nicara- 
gua, and Costa Rica 39-58 

REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. 

Chap. IV. Discovery, Boundaries, General Aspect, Topography, etc. . 59-72 

Chap. V. Rivers, Lakes, and Lagoons 73-91 

Chap. VI. Bays, Ports, and Harbors 92-106 

Chap. VH. Islands of Honduras 107-119 

Chap. VIII. Political Divisions — Departments of Comayagua, Gra- 

cias, Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, Olancho, Yoro, and Santa Barbara. 120-151 

-; Chap. IX. Aspects of Nature in Honduras 152-159 

Chap. X. Mines and Minerals '. 160-171 

Chap. XI Precious Woods — ^Vegetable Productions — Animals — Fish- 
es — Reptiles — Insects 172-202 

Chap. XII. Existing aboriginal Inhabitants — the Xicaques, Payas, 

Sambos, and Caribs 203-218 

Chap. XIII. Political Organization — Constitution — Religion — Educa- 
tion — Industry — Revenues — Currency — Future Prospects 219-234 

8NTER-OCEANIC RAILWAY. 

Chap. XIV. Proposed Inter-oceanic Railway through Honduras 235-293 

REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. 

Chap. XV. San Salvador— Geographical and Topographical Features, 

Productions, etc 295-327 

- Chap. XVI. Aboriginal Inhabitants of San Salvador 328-352 

MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

A. Segovia, Chontales, and the Mosquito Shore 353-367 

B. " The Bay Islands" 368-377 

C. Aborigines of Honduras 378-385 

D. Thermometrical and Barometrical Observations 386-388 

E. Bibliography 389-393 

Index • • ^^^ 



MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 



General Map of Honduras and San Salvador To face Title. 

Physical Sections of Honduras and San Salvador To face -page 69 

Chart of Bay of Fonseca " " 93 

Chart of Puerto Caballos " " 240 

Chart of West Indian Hurricanes Page 278 

View of the Island of Tigre To face page 96 

122 
132 
143 
143 
172 
240 
303 
308 
313 



View of the City and Plain of Comayagua 

View of the Town and Plateau of Intibucat 

View of the City of Tegucigalpa 

View of the Plaza in Tegucigalpa 

View of Mahogany Works on the River Ulua 

View of Puerto Caballos 

View of the Port of La Union 

View of the Valley of Rio Lempa 

View of the Plain of Jiboa and Volcano of San Vicente 

View of the Mining Town of Depilto Page 354 



GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 



In the year 1850, while occupying the position of diplomatic 
representative of the United States in Central America, it became 
requisite for me to visit the Bay of Fonseca, which has a command- 
ing geographical position between the states of Nicaragua and San 
Salvador, on the Pacific Ocean. During my residence at the port 
of La Union, my attention was arrested by the circumstance that 
portions of this bay were swept by strong winds from the north, 
leading me to infer that there must exist an interruption in the 
great mountain chain of the Cordilleras, which otherwise would in- 
terpose an impassable barrier to the winds blowing from that direc- 
tion. This inference was strengthened on learning that the north 
winds prevailed only during the period of their continuance on the 
Atlantic coast, and was confirmed by the additional circumstance 
that the current of wind reaching the Pacific was only felt over a 
very narrow space, not exceeding ten miles in breadth. It was 
with no surprise, therefore, on ascending the volcano of Conchagua, 
which rises above the port of La Union, that I turned my glass to 
the northward, and saw that the mountains of Honduras seemed to 
be completely interrupted in that direction. 

Then, this fact only interested me as a remarkable feature in the 
general physical character of the country ; nor was it until the au- 
tumn of 1852 that I was led to reflect upon it in connection with 
the subject of inter-oceanic communications. At this time the prac- 
tical examination of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, with reference to 
the construction of a railway between the seas, had resulted in es- 
tablishing the fact of the total absence of adequate ports for the 
purpose upon both oceans. The project of a communication at that 
point had, moreover, become involved, politically, to such a degree 
that little hope could be entertained of its successful prosecution 
until a new and permanent order of things should be established in 
Mexico, a result which the previous history of that country gave 
no warrant for anticipating as likely to happen for many years. 

The unwilling conviction was consequently forced upon the pub- 



VI GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 

lie mind that, in order to reach California, it would continue to be 
necessary to follow the tedious and circuitous route by way of the 
Isthmus of Panama. 

It was then that the observations which I had made at La Union 
induced me to inquire if there might not be a feasible railway route 
across the continent, terminating on the Bay of Fonseca, in reference 
to which, and on other grounds, I had ventured the prediction that, 
" from its position and capacity, it must ultimately become the great 
emporium of trade and the centre of enterprise upon that side of 
the continent " I soon found that, as early as 1540, the officers of 
the Spanish crown had discovered a favorable passage between the 
seas upon this very line, and that they had founded the city of Co- 
mayarrua " midway between the oceans" for the purpose of obtain- 
ing " an easy communication between the Atlantic and Pacific," by 
means of which " much sickness, and waste of human life, and many 
of the fatigues and privations which were experienced in the jour- 
ney from Nombre de Dios to Panama Avould be avoided." 

On presenting my views upon the subject to a few personal friends 
and public-spirited gentlemen, it was determined to incur the ex- 
pense of verifying them by a direct and careful examination of the 
country in question. I at once proceeded to organize a competent 
corps of reconnaissance for the purpose, and was fortunate enough to 
secure the co-operation and assistance of several gentlemen of ac- 
knowledged scientific and practical ability. It will not be invidious 
to mention the names of Lieutenant W. N. Jeffers, U. S. N., late 
Assistant Professor of Mathematics in the United States Naval Acad- 
emy ; Dr. S. W. "WooDHOusE, whose qualifications in the field had 
been fully tested in the Government Expedition to the Colorado of 
California, under command of Captain Sitgreaves ; and Mr. D. C. 
Hitchcock, who accompanied the party as draughtsman. 

The expedition sailed from the United States in the month of 
February, 1853, and in the mouth of April following commenced its 
operations in the field, taking the Bay of Fonseca as its point of 
departure. The accuracy of my previous inferences was speedily 
and fully verified, as will appear in the pages which follow. A line 
of observations and barometrical admeasurements was carried com- 
pletely across the continent by Lieutenant Jeffers. A similar line 
was carried from Leon de Nicaragua to the city of Comayagua, in 
Honduras, by Dr. AYoodhousc ; and another by myself from Coma- 
yagua to the town of Santa Rosa, in the extreme western border of 
Honduras, thence to the city of San Salvador, in the state of the 



GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. VU 

same name, and afterward throughout the length of that state, from 
Sonsonate to the port of La Union, our point of departure. 

It is upon the observations made, and the facts collected in the' 
progress of this reconnaissance, and in conducting the negotiations 
resulting from it, that the hurried memoir herewith presented is 
principally founded. And here I am free to say, that it was my 
original intention to confine it to a simple explanation of the Map 
OF Honduras and San Salvador which accompanies this volume ; 
and I have only been led to give it its present extension and form 
from the conviction that the public interest in these hitherto little 
known yet prospectively important states would hardly be satisfied 
with a mere detail of their physical features and characteristics. 

Yet, in attempting to present even these in an intelligible manner, 
I have been compelled to depend almost entirely upon my own ob- 
servations. Indeed, the whole undertaking has been, I had almost 
said, a creation, inasmuch as there are no authorities or accredited 
sources of information upon which to proceed, or which might serve 
as a nucleus for an aggregation of facts. The former condition of 
Central America, under the jealous and exclusive colonial system 
of Spain, and the distracting and deplorable circumstances under 
which it has sufi^ered since its independence, have been eminently 
unfavorable for every kind of local research, whether in the depart- 
ments of geography or general statistics. Upon all subjects con- 
nected with the history, the natural features and resources, climate, 
population, productions, trade, and resources of the country, there 
exists a profound and almost universal ignorance. Even the per- 
sons supposed to be best informed upon these subjects are seldom 
able to give any comprehensive series of facts, or of accurate obser-. 
vations bearing upon any one of them, and the inquirer is left to a 
laborious process of accumulation, which is alike difficult and dis- 
couraging. He looks in vain for printed books or public documents 
to assist him. Of the few which have made their appearance, there 
nowhere exists a complete collection ; and it is equally vain to seek 
for data among the state and local archives, where, to an original 
total lack of order, gross neglect and wanton destruction have been 
superadded, to confound and defeat all investigation. 

It might be supposed that, in respect of the general geography of 
the country at large, or of its various states, it would be easy to ob- 
tain some kind of clear and positive information ; but, excepting a 
map of the single state of Guatemala, constructed by Don Alejan- 
dro Marure, and entitled "Atlas Guatemalteco, e7» ocho Cartas, 



Xll GEOGEAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 

by this map to the fictitious Mosquito nationality above the Rio 
Wanks or Segovia belongs to Honduras ; the part below pertains to 
jSTicaragua. 5. The northern boundary of Costa Rica is inaccurate, 
and not conceded by Nicaragua. But this error may be excused on 
the ground of conflict of claims between those states. It is, perhaps, 
not to be expected that a map-maker should have the means of test- 
ing the merits of questions of this kind. The true northern bound- 
ary line of Costa Rica, as defined in her own Constitution, extends 
from the lower mouth of the River San Juan to the Rio Salto de 
]Nricoya or Alvarado, falling into the Gulf of Nicoya. Consequently, 
the territories of Costa Rica do not tovich the River San Juan nor 
Lake Nicaragua, but fall far to the southward of both. The map 
in question is therefore erroneous in this respect. In short, so far 
as Central America is concerned, it has no claim to be regarded as 
an authority. It can serve no purpose except to confuse and mis- 
lead. 

It may be claimed that the map here alluded to is general in its 
character, and does not pretend to specific accuracy. Such, however, 
is not the case with a large map recently published in London, which 
has very generally been accepted as an authority, namely, " Map of 
Central A.u-ERicx,induding the States of Guatemala, Honduras, San 
Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, etc., etc., hy John Baily, Esq., 
R. M. — Trelawney Saunders, London, 1850 

"We are not surprised to find embodied in this map all the terri- 
torial pretensions and arbitrary political divisions of the country de- 
vised aiid set up by the British government. A few strokes of the 
colorist's brush have been sufficient to indicate British sovereigntj'- 
over two thirds of the Department of Vera Paz in Guatemala, to con- 
vert the islands belonging to Honduras, in the bay of the same name, 
into British dependencies, and to carry Mosquito jurisdiction over 
more than half of the respective states of Honduras and Nicaragua. 
Nor has it been less potent in settling the question of boundary 
between Nicaragua and Costa Rica in favor of the latter state, in 
which, by a singular coincidence, British influence has always pre- 
dominated! These peculiarities ^f the map, in view of its origin, 
can hardly be regarded as surprising. Those who constructed it 
have probably smiled to know with what ignorant servility it has 
been copied on this side of the Atlantic. 

It may nevertheless be said of this map that it is the nearest 
approximation to accuracy which has yet been published. Still, in 
many important geographical as well as political features it is de- 



GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XIU 

ficient, and in others totally wrong. Leaving out of view both Gua- 
temala and Costa Rica, we find a number of most important errors 
in the remaining states, which appear all the more surprising, since 
Mr. Baily not only resided for many years in Central America, but 
must have traveled over a great part of its territories. Thus, in 
San Salvador, the great river Lempa is represented as constituting 
the boundary between that state and Honduras, whereas it flows, 
for the greater part of its length, through the longitudinal centre of 
the state, and forms its northern boundary for only a few miles of 
its course. Again : the upper waters of the Rio Santiago, in the 
Department of Gracias, Honduras, are represented as describing the 
segment of a circle from east to west before taking their general 
course, east by north, to the sea, whereas the very reverse is the 
fact. As one of the consequences of this error, the town and ruins 
of Copan are thrown within the territory of Guatemala, although, in 
fact, they fall considerably within the boundaries of Honduras. The 
Lake of Yojoa is presented with the extraordinary feature of five dis- 
tinct outlets ! The course of the Rio Humuya is also deflected much 
too far to the eastward of its course. The rivers Guallambre and 
Guyape, which, in fact, unite to form the River Patuca or Patook, 
falling into the Bay of Honduras at Brus or Brewer's Lagoon, are 
represented as constituting the principal affluents of the great River 
Wanks or Segovia, entering the Caribbean Sea at Cape Gracias a 
Dios. This river also, which rises in the Mountains of Chili, around 
the town of Ocotal or Nueva Segovia, iu the Nicaraguan depart- 
ment of the same name, is represented as originating far to the north- 
east of those mountains, while the upper waters of the Rio Escon- 
dido, or Bluefields River, are substituted in place of those of the Rio 
Wanks. The Rio Goascoran, interlocking its head-waters with those 
of the Rio Humuya, and flowing southward into the Bay of Fonseca, 
is entirely omitted. The errors in the positions of places are not less 
remarkable, but infinitely more numerous. These, however, are not 
surprising, since most of the towns have necessarily been laid down 
from the representations of persons who had very imperfect no- 
tions of distances and directions. 

The distinguished Prussian geographer Berghaus was the first to 
indicate, with even approximate accuracy, the great physical feat- 
ures of Central America. Instead of admitting a continuous chain 
of mountains extending through that country from Tehuantepoc to 
Panama, he divided the mountains of Central America into three 
distinct systems or groups : first, that of Costa Rica, with the vol- 



XIV GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 

cano of Cartago for a nucleus ; second, that of* Honduras ; and, third, 
that of Guatemala. Between the first and second intervenes the 
transverse basin of the Nicaragua lakes, w^ith a minimum altitude of 
land of one hundred and eighty feet ; and. between the second and. 
third the plain of Comayagua, with its dependent valleys, having a 
maximum altitude of but little more than two thousand feet. Under 
this view, and in all general respects, Berghaus's Map of Central 
America, published in his "Physikalischen Atlas" in 1840, has been, 
up to within a very recent period, far the best representation of the 
geography of that country. 

In explanation of the map of Honduras and San Salvador which 
I herewith present to the public, it is proper to say that the leading 
points upon the line of the proposed railway through Honduras were 
determined by Lieutenant Jefters from numerous and careful astro- 
nomical observations. They constitute the basis upon which the re- 
lations of the places visited by the expedition or its members were 
calculated. These calculations are entitled to additional confidence 
from the circumstance that there are, both in Honduras and San Sal- 
vador, a number of elevated and commanding mountain and vol- 
canic peaks, which are almost constantly kept in view by the trav- 
eler, and which always enable him to determine his position with 
considerable accuracy. The bearings of these determinate points 
were never neglected when an opportunity occurred for observing 
them, and have served a most useful and satisfactory purpose in the 
construction of this map. It will be remarked that those places, of 
which the position is regarded as having been fixed with approxi- 
mate accuracy, are indicated by a light line drawn under them. All 
other places are inserted on the best information that could be ob- 
tained, and in a few instances conjecturally. The course of the Rio 
Patuca, and the relative positions of the towns situated on its upper 
waters, are on the authority of a rude map constructed by the ma- 
hogany-cutters who are established on the Patuca River and its trib- 
utaries. Much of the information embodied in that portion of the 
map embraced within the boundaries of the Department of Gracias, 
Honduras, is drawn from a MS. map of that department, constructed 
in 1838 by Don Jose Maria Cacho, actual secretary of state of Hon- 
duras, and at that period commissioner of the census then ordered 
by the Congress of the old republic. 

I may here observe that little reliance can be placed upon the 
" Itineraries" which are appended to the various " Calendarios" pub- 
lished in Central America in respect of distances. The computa- 



GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. XV 

tions are in leagues, and have been obtained chiefly from the pro- 
fessional arricros, or muleteers of the country, whose estimates of 
distances are very loose, depending, as they often naively confess, 
" upon the qualities of their mules." I have found that the value 
of a league, in the comparatively level grounds of ^san Salvador and 
in the plains of Honduras, seldom exceeds two English miles ; while, 
in the broken and mountainous districts, it falls below a mile and a 
half of horizontal distance. 

What I have sai^ of the geographical data embraced in this me- 
moir and in the accompanying maps is equally true of the general 
statistics and facts which are here presented. They have been 
chiefly obtained from direct observation and laborious personal in- 
quiry, in a detached and often obscure form, and are necessarily im- 
perfect. For instance, the facts relating to population have been 
collected from an inspection of the parochial registers in some in- 
stances, and from tables published irregularly and without digestion 
in the " Gacetas Officiales" of the respective states. Few, who have 
not undertaken a similar task, can adequately comprehend how great 
an amount of labor is requisite to arrive at results under such ad- 
verse circumstances, and how unsatisfactoi'y these results will often 
prove to be, even after every eflbrt has been exhausted to render 
them complete and accurate. ISo one can be more sensible of the 
defects of this memoir, and its deficiencies in respect to several im- 
portant subjects of inquiry and interest, than myself. Still, 1 flatter 
myself that it will prove of value, as constituting a point of depart- 
ure for other investigators, who, by correcting its errors and gradu- 
ally supplying its omissions, shall finally complete the design of pre- 
senting to the world a full and accurate view of the character, cli- 
mate, resources, population, and general physical and political con- 
dition of the various divisions of Central America ; and 1 am not 
without the hope that this attempt may have an influence in awak- 
ening the attention of the people and governments of that country 
to the importance of collecting, digesting, and making public the 
data bearing upon all these sulijeets. 

I am not aware of more than one work which has been printed in 
Central America that even professed to give a general view of the 
country, its character, and resources, viz.. The History of the King- 
dom of Guatemala, by Juarros. This work, however, is chiefly his- 
torical, and is little more than a transcript frona the munici])al and 
monkish chronicles of Guatemala. Reference is rarely made to the 
physical features of the country, and even then in au exaggerated 



XVI GEOGRAPHICAL INTRODUCTION. 

and marveling tone, Avhich always denotes the absence of positive 
knowledge. Such stories as the production of" a plant like a gourd" 
from sowing the eggs of an insect known as the Chapulin, are not too 
absurd to find a grave relation in the history of Juarros. Yet, strange 
to say, nearly all that has been written or published in Central Amer- 
ica upon the country itself has been a servile x'epetition, seldom even 
varying in language, of the statements and speculations of Juarros ! 

Subsequently to the independence, Don Jose de la Valle, and after 
him Don Alejandro Marure, devoted some attention to the study of 
the country under its physical aspects, and to the collection of facts 
illustrative of its resources and political condition ; but, except a me- 
moir on the proposed ship-canal of Nicaragua, and a brief chrono- 
logical list of events in the history of Central America, we have noth- 
ing on these subjects from the pen of Marure, although it is said that, 
in common with Valle, he wrote largely upon them all. It only re- 
mains to mention the name of Don Jose Maria Cacho to complete 
the list of natives of Central America who have done any thing wor- 
thy of mention in the department here indicated. His brief notes 
on the Department of Gracias, in Honduras, possess a real value, and 
might serve as a model of similar researches to his countrymen. 

What little illustration Central America has received has there- 
fore been at the hands of foreigners ; but their works have been, for 
the most part, rapid narrations of travel and adventure, shallow in 
observation, and inaccurate in their statements. Few of them have 
been written by persons competent by education, or accustomed by 
habit to close and accurate research. They are chiefly devoted to 
superficial views of society, and highly-colored accounts of political 
incidents and commotions, of which their authors failed to ascertain 
the origin not less than to detect the significance. From this, per- 
haps, too sweeping condemnation, I may except the works of Thomp- 
son, Henderson, Young, Roberts, Dunn, Baily, and Crowe, which 
certainly contain many and valuable facts and observations. 

Upon a review of the whole subject, I have thought that I might 
render the public a service in subjoining, in the Appendix to this 
memoir, a list of the various books and pamphlets bearing directly 
upon Central America as a whole, or upon its various parts, which 
have been published since the commencement of this century, and 
which have fallen under my observation. My object has been to 
make this list as complete as possible, without regard to the values 
of the various works themselves. It will be observed that the titles 
follow each other in chronological order. 



NOTES 



ON 



CENTRAL AMERICA. 



CHAPTER I. 

GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF CENTRAL 
AMERICA, AND THEIR INFLUENCE ON POPULATION, 

/CENTRAL AMERICA, in respect of geographic- 
^-^ al position, almost realizes the ancient idea of the 
centre of the Avorld. Not only does it connect the two 
grand divisions of the American continent, the north- 
ern and the southern hemispheres, but its ports open 
to Eiu'ope and Africa on the east, and to Polynesia, 
Asia, and Australia on the west. 

Looking at the map, we find, at the Isthmus of Te- 
huantepcc, the Gulf of Mexico approaching to within 
two liundrcd miles of the Western Ocean, the waters 
of the River Coatzacoalcos, which flows mto the for- 
mer, almost interlocking Avith those of the Chicapa, 
flowing into the latter. Below this j^oint the conti- 
nent Avidens, embracing the high table-lands of Guate- 
mala upon the west, and the broad plains of Tabasco, 
Chiaj^a, and Yucatan upon the north and east. The 
Gulf or Bay of Honduras, hoAvever, closes around this 
section upon the southeast, and again narroAvs the con- 
tinent to less than one hundred and fifty miles. The 
country intervening IjctAvecn this bay and the Pacific is 

B 



18 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. I. 

marked by a complete interruption of the Cordilleras, 
and is traversed by a great transverse valley, running 
due north and south, through which the large river 
Ulua finds its way to the Atlantic, and the smaller riv= 
er Goascoran flows into the Bay of Fonseca, on the 
Pacific. Still lower down, and passing the grand trans- 
verse basin of Nicaragua, is the well-kno^vn narrow Isth- 
mus of Panama or Darien, over which the tide of emi- 
gration has tAvice poured its floods, once upon Peru, and 
again upon the glittering shores of California. 

Nor are the topographical characteristics of Central 
America less remarkable than its geographical features. 
In its physical aspect and configuration of surface, it 
has very justly been observed that it is an epitome of 
all other coi^ntries and climates of the globe. High 
mountain ranges, isolated volcanic peaks^ elevated ta- 
ble-lands, deep valleys, broad and fertile plains, and ex- 
tensive alluvions, are here found grouped together, re- 
lieved by large and beautiful lakes and majestic rivers; 
the whole teeming with animal and vegetable life, and 
possessing every variety of climate, from torrid heats 
to the cool and bracing temperature of eternal spring. 

The great chain of the Cordilleras here, as in South 
America, runs nearest to the Pacific coast, but in places 
it is interrupted, as I have already said, and assumes 
the form of detached ranges and isolated elevations, 
groups or knots of hills, between which the streams 
from the interior high valleys or elevated plains wind 
their way to the two oceans. As a consequence, the 
principal alluvions border on the Gulf of Mexico and 
the Caribbean Sea. Here rains fall, in greater or less 
abundance, for the entire year ; vegetation is rank, and 
the climate is damp and proportionally insalubrious. 
The trade winds blow from the northeast; and the 



Chap. I.] geograpuy and topography. 19 

moisture with which they are saturated, condensed on 
the elevated parts of the continent, flows down toward 
the Atlantic. The Pacific slope is therefore compara- 
tivel}' dry and healthful, as are also the elevated re- 
gions of the interior. 

Topogi'aphicall}', Central America presents three 
marked centres of elevation, which have, to a certain de- 
gi'cc, fixed its political divisions. The first is the great 
pL'iin, or broken table-land, in which is situated the city 
of Guatemala, and which is upward of four thousand 
feet above the sea. Here the large rivers Usumasinta 
and Tabasco, flowing northward through Chiapa and 
Tabasco into the Gulf of Mexico, take their rise. Their 
sources interlock with those of the Motagua or Gualan, 
running eastward into the Gulf of Honduras, and with 
those of the small streams which send their waters west- 
ward into the Pacific. 

A group of mountains occupies Honduras, present- 
ing an almost mural front toward the Pacific, but shoot- 
ing out numerous spurs or subordinate branches, like 
the fingers of an outsj)read hand, toward the north and 
east. Between these ranges, and in some cases almost 
encircled by hills, are several broad valleys or plains 
of different elevations, in which are gathered the wa- 
ters of thousands of rivulets and small streams, form- 
inec numerous considerable rivers, which radiate north 
and east into the Caribbean Sea, and south and west 
into the Southern Ocean. Among the most remark- 
able are the Chamelicon, the Ulua, Lean, Roman or 
Tinto, Patuca, Coco (Wanks or Segovia), upon the east- 
ern slope ; the Clioluteca, Nacaome, Goascoran, San 
Miguel, and Lempa, upon the western. 

Intervening between this and the third great centre 
of elevation in Costa Rica is the basin of the Nicara- 



20 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. I. 

guan lakes, with its verdant slopes and gently undulat- 
ing plains. The nucleus of the elevation in Costa Rica 
is the oreat volcano of Cartago, which towers in its 
midst. Here the Cordilleras assume their general char- 
acter of a great, unbroken mountain barrier, but soon 
subside again in low ridges on the Isthmus of Panama. 

Besides the rivers of Central America, the largest 
of which I have enumerated, there are a number of 
large and beautiful lakes, viz. : Nicaragua and Man- 
agua, in Nicaragua; Yojoa or Taulebe, in Honduras; 
Guija and Ilopango, in San Salvador; and Golfo 
Dulce, Peten or Itza, Atitlan, and Amatitlan, in Gua- 
temala. Of these, the Lakes of Nicaragua and Man- 
agua are much the largest. 

I have said that the ports of Central America open 
to Europe and Africa on one hand, and to Polynesia, 
Asia, and Australia on the other. On the Atlantic, 
Guatemala has Belize, Izabal, and Santo Tomas (the 
last only of much value) ; Honduras has Omoa, Puer- 
to Caballos, Puerto Sal, Triunfo de la Cruz, Truxillo, 
and others ; Nicaragua has Gracias a Dios, Bluefields, 
and San Juan. Costa Pica has no good port on 
the east, but has several on the west, of which Golfo 
Dulce, Punta Arenas, and Caldera are the principal. 
Nicaragua has, upon the Pacific, Culebra, Salinas, San 
Juan del Sur, and Pealejo; Honduras, a cluster in 
the Bay of Fonseca, viz. : Amapala (a free port), San 
Lorenzo, and La Paz ; San Salvador has La Union, 
also in the Bay of Fonseca, Jiquilisco or Espiritu 
Santo, Jaltepec or Concordia, La Libertad, and Aca- 
jutla or Sonsonate. The last tAvo can hardly be called 
ports, being, in fact, only roadsteads. Guatemala has 
but one port or roadstead, called Iztapa. The best of 
all these ports on the Atlantic are Santo Tomas, Omoa, 



Chap. I.] distribution of population. 21 

Puerto Caballos, and San Juan del Norte ; on the Pa- 
cific, Realejo, the free port of Ainapala (Island of Ti- 
gre), and La Union. 

The area of Central America may be calculated, in 
round numbers, at 155,000 square miles — very nearly 
equal to that of the New England and the Middle States 
combined. Tlie population may be estimated at not 
far from 2,000,000, of which Guatemala has 850,000; 
San Salvador, 394,000; Honduras, 350,000; Nica- 
ragua, 300,000; and Costa Eica, 125,000. 

The geographical and topogi'aphical features of all 
countries have had, and alwa}s must have, an impor- 
tant and often a controlling influence upon the charac- 
ter and destiny of their populations. The nature and 
extent of this influence receives a striking illustration 
both in the past and the present condition of Central 
America. At the period of the discovery, it was found 
in the occupation of two families of men, presenting in 
respect to each other the strongest points of contrast. 
Upon the high plateaus of the interior of the country, 
and uj^on the Pacific declivity of the continent, where 
the rains are comparatively light, the country open, and 
the climate relatively cool and salubrious, were found 
great and populous nations, far advanced in civiliza- 
tion, and maintaining a systematized religious and civil 
organization. Upon the Atlantic declivity, on the 
other hand, among dense forests, nourished by constant 
rains into rank vigor, on low coasts, where marshes 
and lagoons, sweltering under a fierce sun, generated 
deadly miasmatic damps, were found savage tribes of 
men, without fixed abodes, living upon the natural 
fruits of the earth, and the precarious supplies of fish- 
ing and the chase, without religion, and with scarcely 
a semblance of social or political establishments. 



22 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. I, 

It is impossible to resist the conviction that the con- 
trasting conditions of these two great families were 
princij)ally due to the equally contrasting physical con- 
ditions of their respective countries. With the prim- 
itive dwellers on the Atlantic declivity of Central 
America, no considerable advance, beyond the rudest 
habits of life, was possible. He was powerless against 
the exuberant vitality of savage nature, which even 
the civilized man, with all the appliances that intelli- 
gence has gradually called to his aid, is unable to sub- 
due, and which still retains its ancient dominion over 
the broad alluvions, both of Central and South Amer- 
ica. His means of sustenance were too few and too 
precarious to admit of his making permanent establish- 
ments, Avhich, in turn, would involve an adjustment of 
the relations of men and the oro;anization of societv. 
He was therefore a hunter from necessity, nomadic in 
his habits, and obliged to dispute his life with men 
who, like himself, were scarcely less savage than the 
beasts of the forests. 

Civilization could never have been developed under 
such adverse conditions. It could only originate where 
favorable physical circumstances afforded to man some 
relief from the pressure of immediate and ever-recurring 
wants — where a genial climate, and an easily-cultivated 
soil, bountiful in indigenous fruits, would enable him 
not only to make his permanent abode, but to devote 
a portion of his time to the improvement of his supe- 
rior nature. 

Such were the circumstances which surrounded the 
dweller on the high plains of Honduras and Guate- 
mala. There, wide and fertile savannas invited to ag- 
riculture, and yielded to the rudest implements of 
cultivation an ample harvest. The maize, that great 



Chap. I.] physical influences on population. 23 

support of aboriginal civilization in America, was prob- 
ably indigenous there, and ^vas thence carried north- 
ward over Mexico and the Floridas by the various 
families who established tliemselves in those remons, 
and whose languages and traditions point to the pla- 
teaus of Guatemala as their original seat. 

The natural eonditions which favored the develop- 
ment of mankind in one portion of Central America, 
and rigidly suppressed it in another, are still active and 
potential. The Spaniards stopped not to maintain an 
unequal struggle against savage nature on the Atlan- 
tic slope of the continent, but established themselves 
upon the dr}Tr, more salubrious, and more genial Pa- 
cific declivity. The Mosquito Shore still remains the 
haunt of savages, whom three hundred years of contact 
with civilization have failed to improve ; while the 
State of San Salvador sustains a population twice as 
great in proportion to its area as any other equal ex- 
tent of Spanish America, and relatively as great as that 
of New England itself. 

Tliese natural conditions will continue to foster set- 
tlement and population on the one hand, and discour- 
age and oppose it on the other ; and not until those 
portions of Central and South America Avhich are most 
favored in respect of position and climate are filled to 
overflowing, and tlie progress of discovery, both in sci- 
ence and in art, has invested men with augmented abil- 
ity to combat successfully the diseases and physical dif- 
ficulties which exist in the valleys of tlie Amazon and 
Orinoco, and on the Mosquito Shore, will those regions 
be subjected to the influences of civilization, or become 
the seats of any considerable populations. 

The natural relations of Central America, as indi- 
cated by the physical facts already pointed out, are 



24 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. I. 

clearly with the Pacific and the states which now ex- 
ist or may spring into existence upon that coast. To 
California and the greater part of Mexico, as also to 
some of the states of South America, it must come, 
sooner or later, to sustain a position corresponding 
with that which the West Indies have held toward the 
United States and Europe, with the important addi- 
tion of being an established route of travel, and per- 
haps ultimately of commerce, between the eastern and 
western hemispheres. Its destiny is plainly written in 
the outlines of its coast, and is printed on its surface, 
not less than demonstrated by its geographical position. 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 



25 



CHAPTER II. 

observations ox the climate of central AMERICA IN 

GENERAL. 

T^HE peculiarities of Central America, in respect of 
-^ configuration of surface, will explain the almost 
endless variety of climate to which I have alluded, and 
which is nowhere more remarkable than in that coun- 
trv. Situated betAveen 8° and 1 7° north latitude, were 
it not for these features, the general temperature would 
be somewhat higher than that of the West Indies. As 
it is, the climate of the coast is nearl}^ the same with 
that of the islands alluded to, and exceedingly uniform. 
It is modified somewhat by the shape and position of 
the shore, and by the proximity of the mountains, as 
well as by the prevailing winds. The heat on the Pa- 
cific coast is not, however, so oppressive as on the At- 
lantic; less, perhaps, because of any considerable dif- 
ference of temperature than on account of the greater 
dryness and purity of the atmosphere. 

In the northern part of the State of Guatemala, in 
Avhat is called "Los Altos," the Highlands, the aver- 
age temperature is lower than in an}' other part of 
the country. Snow sometimes falls in the vicinity of 
Quezaltenango, the capital of this department, l)ut soon 
disappears, as the thermometer seldom remains at the 
freezing point for any considerable length of time. In 
the vicinity of the city of Guatemala, the range of the 
thermometer is from .55° to 80°, averaging about 72° 
of Faln-enheit. Vera Paz, the northeastern department 



26 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 

of Guatemala, and embracing the coast below Yucatan 
to the Gulf of Dulce, is nearly ten degrees warmer. 
This coast, from Belize downward to Izabal and Santo 
Tomas, is hot and unhealthy. The same remark ap- 
plies, in a less degree, to the northern and eastern coast 
of Honduras, from Omoa to Cape Gracias a Dios. A 
favorable circumstance here is the close approach of 
the mountains to the shore, and the prevalence, for a 
considerable portion of the year, of cool and bracing 
winds from the north. The State of San Salvador lies 
wholly on the Pacific. It is smaller than any of the 
others, but proportionally better populated. It is less 
elevated than either Guatemala or Honduras, and its 
general temperature is probably higher. The heat, 
however, is never oppressive, except at a few points 
near the coast, as for instance Sonsonate, San Miguel, 
and La Union, all of which owe their excessively high 
temperature to local circumstances. Honduras, as its 
name implies (being the plural of ^'■Jiondura,'" depth), 
has a very diversified surface, and a consequent diversity 
of temperature. The climate is generally delightful, the 
average temperature at Tegucigalpa, Comayagua, Juti- 
calpa, and Gracias, the principal towns, being about 
74°. The De]3artment of Segovia, in Nicaragua, bor- 
dering on Honduras, has a like surface and tempera- 
ture. The principal part of Nicaragua, however, is 
mdely different in all respects, and has a topography 
and climate peculiarly its own. The average tempera- 
ture of the great basin of the lakes is about 79° or 80° : 
a result due not to its elevation, but to other favorable 
and modifying causes, which I have fully pointed out 
in my work on that country. The population of Costa 
Kica is concentrated on the western or Pacific sloj^e of 
the volcano of Cartago, and, as a consequence, almost 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 27 

any degree of temperature may be obtained, according 
to the elevation, from the intense heat of tlie port of 
Punta Ai'enas to the constant spring of San Jose, or 
to the autunnial temperature of the belt above the an- 
cient ca[)ital of Cartago. The eastern slopes of Costa 
Rica may be said to be uninhabited, and the coast from 
Chiriqui Lagoon northward is low and unhealthy. 
Indeed, the entire Atlantic coast of Central America, 
from Truxillo downward, embracing the whole of what 
is called the Mosquito shore, is subject to the same re- 
mark. Hence this coast has scarcely any inhabitants, 
except a few squalid Indians, Avhile the coast of the 
Pacific is lined witli towns, and occupied by a very con- 
siderable population. 

What are called the "seasons'" under the tropics, 
namely, the wet and dr}^, are much influenced in their 
commencement and duration by local causes, so that 
what is literally true of one place can onlj- be partially 
so of another. The widest differences are, of course, 
between the Atlantic and Pacific slopes of the conti- 
nent. Tlie whole of Central America comes within 
the zone of the northeast trade winds, which, sweeping 
across the Atlantic, reach the continent almost satu- 
rated Avith vapor. The portion of moisture of which 
they are deprived by the Caribbean Islands is proba- 
bly again nearly, if not quite, made up in their passage 
over the sea of the same name. These winds are inter- 
cepted by the high mountain centres of Guatemala, 
Honduras, and Costa Hica, and the vapor precipitated 
from them flows down to the Atlantic, through a mul- 
titude of streams and riNcrs. But the mountains of 
Central America are not all liigli enough to entirely 
intercept the trade winds. The}' are, moreover, l)rok- 
en through by transverse valleys, like that of tlie Nic- 



28 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 

araguan Lakes, and that of Comayagua in Honduras. 
As a consequence, the trades, for a great part of the 
year, blow entirely across the continent, reaching the 
Pacific slope deprived of their moisture, and cooled 
by a passage over the elevated region of the interior. 
Hence result the greater salubrity of that declivity, the 
comparative coolness and dryness of its climate, and 
its consequently greater population. 

There is, projiierly speaking, no dry season on the 
Atlantic littoral of Central America. For about four 
months of the year, from May to October, the trades 
are intermittent ; consequently, less moisture is precip- 
itated, and this slope has then its nearest approach to 
what is called the ' ' dry season. " 

During these months, the trades, as I have just said, 
being intermittent, the Pacific declivity is subject to 
winds from the west and southwest, which precipitate 
their waters against the western slopes of the mountains, 
and constitute the rainy season. As these Pacific winds 
are seldom more than exaggerated sea-breezes, and are 
rarely of more than a few hours' continuance, the rains 
which folloAv from them are brief, occurring generally 
in the afternoon and night. It is rare to Avitness an 
entire day of rain, although there are occasionally me- 
teoric combinations which produce what the Spaniards 
call Temporales^ or rains of several days' continuance. 
During a residence of three rainy seasons in Central 
America, I witnessed but one Tempoi^al. 

What I have said applies strictly to the respective 
Atlantic and Pacific coasts. The central plateaus, or 
high table-lands of the interior, have a climate of their 
own, subject neither to heavy rains nor excessive 
droughts. The winds which reach them, as well from 
the Avest as the east, are first deprived of the greater 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 29 

part of their moisture, but both bring with them more 
or less rain. From the circumstance that they lie 
nearest the Pacific, these plateaus partake most of the 
climate of that coast, with which their seasons also 
measurably coincide. The plain of Comayagua, situ- 
ated in the very centre of Honduras, and equidistant 
from the two great seas, may be taken as an illustra- 
tion. More or less rain falls there during every month 
in the year ; but, during the prevalence of the dry sea- 
son on the Pacific, it is only in the form of showers of 
brief duration, while during the wet season the rains 
are comparatively long and heavy. Continuous rains, 
or Tenvporales^ are unknown. 

These general remarks will be found supported by 
the following data, which comprise about all the infor- 
mation that I have been able to collect on this sul)ject 
from personal observations or from authentic sources: 

Costa Rica. — "The climate of Costa Kica is very 
humid, tlie rain falling for six months of the year. It 
is cool and healthy on the Pacific coast ; hot, wet, and 
unhealthy on tlie Atlantic; cold and salubrious on 
the table-lands of the interior, where the tliermomcter 
ranges from 65^ to 75° of Fahr. in the course of the 
year. It nuist l)c observed that the rainy season on 
the Pacific and in the interior is from April to No- 
vember ; but upon the Atlantic coast this order of 
things is reversed, and the rainy season is from No- 
vember to February."'^' 

Nicaraxjua. — Observations were made, during the 
progress of tlie survey for a ship-canal in Nicaragua, 
in 1850-51, by the gentlemen connected Avith tliat en- 

* Rosqvcjo dc la Rcpuhlka dc Costa Rica, etc., por Felipe Molina, p. 28. Ga- 
lindo (Journal of the Koyal Geographical Society of London, vol. vi., p. 134) o\y- 
serves that the climate of Costa Rica is exceedingly varied, ranging from 50° to 
60" of Fahr., according to the elevation. 



30 



CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 



terprise. These observations were confined to the isth- 
mus which lies between Lake Nicaragua and the Pa- 
cific, at a point where the trade winds, sweeping through 
the valley of the San Juan Biver, and over Lake Nic- 
arao-ua, find no high mountains to precipitate their 
moisture until they reach the volcanic peaks of Ome- 
tepec and Madeu-a. Hence it happens that this Isth- 
mus of Rivas receives a greater amount of rain annu- 
ally than any other portion of the Pacific coast of Cen- 
tral America. 

OBSERVATIONS AT RIVAS, NICARAGUA— 1850-51. 



Date. 


Average. 
Therinom. 


Highest. 
Thermom. 


Lowest. 
Thermom. 


Range. 


September, 


1850 


78 12 


88 


71 


17 


October, 


do. 


77 


86 


70 


16 


November, 


do. 


78 42 


86 


74 


12 


December, 


do. 


77 11 


84 


72 


12 


January, 


1851 


76 40 


87 


69 


18 


February, 


do. 


76 


84 


70 


14 


March, 


do. 


77 


84 


72 


12 


April, 


do. 


78 83 


88 


72 


16 


May, 


do. 


78 29 


91 


68 


23 


June, 


do. 


77 12 


88 


71 


17 


July, 


do. 


76 98 


86 


71 


15 


August, 


do. 


76 20 


86 


71 


15 


Sept. 12th, do. 
Total mean . . 


79 10 


86 


74 


12 


77 42 


86 45 


71 15 


15 30 



Here it will be observed that the maximum range 
was in the month of May, and was 23°. The mean 
range for the year, however, was only 15°. The heat 
at no time of the year is as great as it is during the 
summer months in New York. For June, July, and 
August of 1850, the mean average range of the ther- 
mometer at the town of Lansingburg, New York, was 
71° 5', the mean highest 93° Q6', the mean lowest 47° 
33', and the mean range 46° 33'. At Jamaica, Long 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 



31 



Island, for July and August of the same year, the mean 
average was 75° 15', the mean highest 95° 50', the 
mean lowest 61° 50', and the mean range 43° 27'. 

In respect of rain, the j^rincipal surveyor has given 
us the result of careful admeasurements made at Rivas 
for one year, from September 9th, 1850, to September 
25th, 1851. The amount was taken in inches and dec- 
imals, and is as follows : 



Inches. 

September, 1850 . . 7.005 

October, do. . . 17.860 

November, do. . . 1.395 

December, do. . . 3.210 

January, 1851 . . 0.380 

Febraary, do. . . 0.000 

March, do. . . 1.410 



April, 
]\lay, 
June, 
July, 

August, 
September, 



1851 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 
do. 



Inches. 

0.430 
9.145 
14.210 
22.640 
11.810 
13.240 



Total inches 102.735 

For the exact year, from September 9th, 1850, to 
September 9th, 1851, the amount of rain was 97.71 
inches. The whole number of days during which rain 
fell was 139, and the whole number of dry days was 
226. During the six months, from May to October 
inclusive, distinguished as the wet season, the whole fall 
was 90. 89 inches, and during the remaining six months, 
distinguished as the dry season, only 6.82 inches. 

But these observations, as I have said, were made 
at Rivas, under the lee of the volcano of Ometepec, 
where more rain falls than at Granada or Leon, in the 
northern portion of the state. At Rivas there was but 
one month, February, in which no rain fell. In 1850, 
in Leon, no rain fell for three months, from the first 
of January to the first of April. 

The average annual fall of rain and snow in the State 
of New York, during the ten years preceding 1846, ac- 



32 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 

cording to the report of the Regents of the University, is 
34. 14 inches. The greatest fall in any one year during 
that period was 37.04 inches, and the least, 32. 10 inches. 

Honduras. — The northern and eastern coast of Hon- 
duras has unquestionably a higher temperature than 
any other j^ortion of the state. It however diminishes 
rapidly as we penetrate inland. The modifying influ- 
ence of the neighboring mountains is felt even before 
the increase in altitude becomes perceptible. Her ta- 
ble-lands have, of course, a climate varying with their 
height above the sea, and their exjDOsure to the pre- 
vailing winds. Consequently, there can be no gener- 
alization on the subject of the climate of Honduras, 
except so far as to say that it has a variety adaj)ted to 
every caprice, and a temperature suitable for the culti- 
vation of the jDroducts of every zone. 

Among the data on this subject are the observations 
made by Mr. Thomas Young, at the mouth of Black 
River, on the Bay of Honduras, lat. 16° N., long. 85° 
W., for one year (1840-41?). The subjoined remark 
accompanies the table : 

"The climate here is pretty equable, only varying, 
throughout the year, from 62° to 86° Fahr., so that 
nothing need be apprehended from excessive heats, es- 
pecially as, during the greater part of the year, it is 
tempered by the grateful sea-breeze, and sometimes by 
the invigorating dry north wind. 

"When the northers terminate, and the sea-breeze 
again blows, the effect on the human frame, and indeed 
on every thing around, is plainly perceptible. All na- 
ture partakes of its influence, and few can tell the en- 
joyment expressed by the man who has been crouching 
round a fire in a cold wet north as he eagerly rushes 
out to enjoy the health-giving breeze." 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 



33 



SUMMARY OF THERMOMETRICAL OBSERVATIONS 
Taken daily at Noo7t, at the mouth of Black River, Honduras, for one Fear (1840-41). 



Munths. 


Average Tem- 
perature. 


Prevailing Winds.* 


Prevailing Weather. 


January . . 


620 to 660 


Northers. 


Wet : sometimes fine 
by being a dry north. 


February . 


660 to 70O 


(C 


(( t( (k 


March . . . 


70° to 740 


Unsettled sea-breezes 
and northeasters. 


Dry. 


April .... 


740 to 7GO 


Northeasters and sea- 
breezes. 


ii 


May 


78° 


Strong sea-breezes. 


li 


June . . . 


780 to 820 


(( ii 


li 


July .... 


820 


li (1 


Wet. 


August . . . 


840 to 86° 


Light variable airs oi 
calms. 


Jry. 


September 


840 to 860 


a ii u 


u 


October . . 


780 


.^ea- breezes, some 


)ry or wet according 






times a light north. 


to wind. 


November 


72° and less 


Northers. 


'et : sometimes fine 
' ly being a dry north . 


December. 


620 to 660 


a 


et. 



Other observations were made, in 1844, on the same 
coast, a little to the eastward of Black Kiver, in the 
vicinity of Carataska Lagoon, by a competent Prussian 
commission, Messrs. Miiller, Fellechner, and Hesse. 
They were carried on from June 13th to August 2d 
of that year, with the following results : 

Observations at Carataska Lagoon from June 13th to August 2d, 1844. 

6 o'clock A.M., 26° of Centigrade = 78.5° of Fahr. 
11 " " 28.4° " " =83.1° " " 

3 " P.M., 28.5° " " =83.4° " " 

7 " " 27.3° " " = 82° " '* 

This is equal to an average mean of 27.8'' of Cent., 

* " At the beginning of October, what arc called the Norths commence and gen- 
erally continue, with liUlc variation, till the return of February or March. While 
these win'ls last, the mornings and evenings arc cold, frequently unpleasantly so ; 
and what in this country is understood by a wet north, might perhaps furnish no 
very imperfect idea of a November day in England. A dry north, on the contrary, 
is beautiful, agreeable, and invigorating." — Henderson's Honduras, p. 14. 

c 



34 



CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 



22. 24° of Reaum., and 82° of Falir. During this time 
the wind blew steadily from the E., E.N.E., or N.E., 
with the exception of three days (the 2 2d, 23d, and 
24th of June) from the S. W., and one day (July 31st) 
from the N. W. The extreme range of the thermome- 
ter during this period was from the mean minimum of 
61° Fahr,, July 2d, to the mean maximum of 85° Fahr., 
July 4th. Captain Haly, for twenty years a resident 
at Cape Gracias, states that during the coldest months, 
viz., October, November, and December, the range of 
the thermometer at that point is from 60° to 65° of 
Fahr. 

At the port of Omoa, also on the same coast, and in 
the same latitude, but three degrees to the westward 
of Black Hiver, for one Aveek, from the 5th to the 12th 
of July, 1853, the thermometer had an average of 85° 
Fahr. at noon ; its greatest range, from six o'clock in 
the morning to the same hour in the evening, having 
been from 80° to 87°. During this period, the morn- 
ings were generally very pleasant, with showers from 
nine to twelve. The sea-breeze set in between twelve 
and one, and from that time until six in the evening it 
was clear. During the evening and night the land- 
breeze was accompanied with frequent violent showers. 

Proceeding inland to the great transverse plain of 
Comayagua, elevated 1800 feet above the sea, my ob- 
servations, made in 1853, gave the following results : 



MEAN RANGE OF THERMOMETER AT COMAYAGUA. 


Months (1853). 


6 A.M. 


12 M. 


3 P.M. 


6 P.M. 


April (part) . . 

May 

June 

Average . . . 


75° 7^ 
75° 5' 
74° 4' 


81° 9^ 

81° 2' 
78° 5' 


84° 0^ 
80° 3^ 
80° 8' 


80° 2' 
78° 5' 
78° 3^ 


75° 2^ 


80° 5' 


81° T 


79° 0^ 



That is to say, during the above months, the mean 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 35 

temperature, from six o'clock in the morning until the 
same hour in the evening, was 79° 1'. The highest or 
maximum point touched by the thermometer during 
these months was 88°; the lowest or minimum, 68°; 
an extreme range of 20°. It may be observed here 
that, from certain peculiarities of the position of the 
city of Comayagua, its temperature rules higher than 
tiiat of any other portion of the valley or plain in which 
it is situated. The temperature of Las Piedras and of 
San Antonio, distant about fourteen miles, has a mean 
of from three to five degrees lower. A little place called 
''El Sitio," not twenty minutes' ride from Comayagua, 
and not perceptibly higher, has a mean of at least five 
degrees less. 

It should also be borne in mind that, in the interior, 
the months of April, May, and June are the hottest of 
the year, and that for the remaining nine months the 
temperature is considerably lower. November, De- 
cember, and January are positively cool, and fires 
sometimes become necessary for comfort. 

My remaining direct observations on the tempera- 
ture of Honduras were too few and too disconnected to 
l)e of much value. The following data, however, may 
serve to illustrate its variety : 

City of Tegucigalpa, 3420 feet elevation, for four 
days, from April 28 to May 4, 1853, inclusive : 

Maximum 85° Fahr. 

Minimum 68° " 

Mean average .... 77° 5' " 

Guajiquero (Indian town), 5265 feet elevation, May 
4, 1853, six o'clock A. M., 56° Fahr. 

Intibucat, 4950 feet elevation, July 4, 1853, six 
o'clock A. M., 56°; eleven o'clock A. M., 62°. 

City of Gracias, 2520 feet elevation : 



36 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 

Fahr. 



July 6, 

U ii 


1853, 


12 M. 
7^ P.M. 


. 78° 
75° 


July 7, 




6 A.M. . 
9 " . 


. 72° 
75° 


11 u 




2 P.M. . 


. 79° 


a a 




6 " . 


76° 


July 8, 




5 A.M. . 


. 70° 5' 



Sta. Rosa, Department of Gracias, 3400 feet above 
the sea, for three weeks during the month of July, 
1853: 

Maximum . . • . . . 75° Fakr. 

Minimum . . . . . 68° " 

Mean average . . . . 71° 15' " 

The plain in which is situated the city of Guatemala 
is elevated between 3000 and 4000 feet above the sea, 
and lies within eighty miles of the Pacific. The fol- 
lowing data relating to its climate are from the Offi- 
cial Gazette : 

From 1st to 7th of September, 1854, the extreme 
range of thermometer was from 64° to 75° of Fahr. ; 
average mean, 68°. It rained for four days during the 
week, commencing at two o'clock P.M. The remain- 
ing three days were dry. Wind generally from S. W. 

From 15th to 21st, extreme range of thermometer, 
64° to 72° of Fahr. ; mean average for the week, 68°. 
Wind S.W. Pained every day. 

From 21st to 28th, extreme range of thermometer, 
63° to 76° of Fahr. ; average mean, 69°. Pained five 
days, commencing at two o'clock P. M. Wind general- 
ly S.E., changing once to N.E. 

The Gazette calculates the entire fall of water for 
the rainy season at 108 inches, or 5 inches per week. 
But I doubt if this be more than an estimate, for there 
are many reasons for believing that the amount of rain 



Chap. II.] observations on climate. 37 

which falls there is considerably less than that on the 
isthmus between Lake Nicaragua and the Pacific, 
wliere, from actual observations, it appears that the 
fall of rain for 1852 Avas but 97.7 inches. The aver- 
age amount of rain which falls in America, under the 
trojDics, is calculated by Professor Johnson, in his Ta- 
bles, at 113 inches. At some points in Brazil, as, for 
instance, San Luis de Maranhao, the annual average is 
27() inches ; and in Guadalupe and some of the Lesser 
Antilles as hi2;h as 292 inches!* 

Belize. — The British establishment of Belize, situ- 
ated near the southern extremity of the peninsula of 
Yucatan, on the Bay of Honduras, in lat. 17° 39' N., 
and long. 88° 12' W., has a temperatiu'e and climate 
which may be regarded as common to the entire east- 
ern coast of Guatemala and Yucatan, and probably not 
far different from that of the islands off the same coast 
in the Bay of Honduras. Observations were made 
here by Captain George Henderson, commander of the 
garrison in the year 1806, for seven months, from Feb- 
ruary to August inclusive, with the following results :f 

"February. — Thermometer; morning, 77° Falir. ; noon, 81° 
Falu-. ; prevailing winds, N., E., and E.N.E. ; clear days, 15. 
" Heavy rain generally during the night ; frequent heavy 

* Thompson asserts of the general temperature of the city of Guatemala, that 
"the mean heat, during the day, from the first of January to the first of July, is 
75° of Fahr. ; at night, 63^. In the summer months the average may be taken at 
ten degrees higher." — Narrative of Official Visit, etc., p. 468. 

t "The climate of this part of the American continent is greatly superior to that 
of most other parts of the same vast portion of the globe, either in higher or lower 
degrees of latitude. It is equally superior to the climate of the West India islands 
generally, for persons whose health and constitutions have become impaired from 
the eflfects of the latter very frequently acquire a sudden restoration of both after 
an arrival in Honduras. 

" With the exception of a few months of the year, this country is constantly re- 
freshed by regular sea breezes, accompnnied by an average of heat that may be 
taken at the temperature of 80°." — Henderson's Honduras, p. 13. 



38 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. II. 

showers during the day. This month being included in what 
is denoted the dry season^ the rains that have fallen have been 
considered unusual. 

" Maech. — Morning, 77° ; noon, 81° ; 21 clear days ; pre- 
vaihng winds, N., N.E., E.N.E., and S.E. 

" The greater part of this month has been dry and pleasant ; 
light dews at night. The sea-breeze, which prevails with great 
regularity at this season, has been partial and moderate. 

" April. — Morning, 80° ; noon, 85° ; 21 clear days ; prevail- 
ing winds, S.E., E.S.E., and E. 

" The whole of this month has been particularly fine, and the 
breezes regular and strong. • Rains, with loud thunder, frequent 
during the night, sometimes accompanied with sudden and vio- 
lent gusts of wind. 

" May. — Morning, 82° ; noon, 85° ; 21 clear days ; prevail- 
ing winds, S. or E. S.E. 

" This month has been particularly dry, but exceedingly pleas- 
ant fi:om the regularity and strength of. the sea-breeze. The 
conclusion of it, however, being cloudy, and attended with fre- 
quent heavy showers, shows the approach of the periodical rains. 

"June. — Morning, 81°; noon, 83° ; 14 clear days; prevail- 
ing winds, E., N.E., and E.KE. 

" The wet season generally commences in the early part of 
this month, about the 10th, and continues through the remain- 
der of it. This season the rains have set in earlier than com- 
mon. Thunder at this time is also frequent, and sometimes tre- 
mendously violent. 

"July. — Morning, 81°; noon, 83° ; 12 clear days ; prevail- 
ing winds, N.E., E., and S.E. 

" The weather for the greater part of this month has been un- 
settled and stormy ; much vivid hghtning, chiefly at night, ac- 
companied with loud thunder. 

"August. — Morning, 81°; noon, 84°; 19 clear days; pre- 
vailing winds, N.E., E., and S.E. 

" The greater part of this month has been exceedingly* close 
and sultry, with frequent and heavy thunder-storms." 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. $9 



CHAPTER III. 

population GUATEMALA, SAN SALVADOR, HONDURAS, NICA- 
RAGUA, AND COSTA RICA. 

T^HE population of Central America, in the absence 
-*- of reliable data, can only be calculated approxi- 
mately. Attempts were made under the crown, and 
subsequently under the republic, to effect a complete 
census, but with very unsatisfactory results, since it 
has always been found that the ignorant masses of the 
people, and especially the Indians, avoid a census as in 
some way connected with military conscription or taxa- 
tion. They have been known to abandon their homes, 
and hide themselves for weeks in the mountains, to es- 
cape the commissioners ! Again : the bulk of the Span- 
ish population exists on the Pacific slope of the con- 
tinent, while on the Atlantic declivity the country is 
either uninhabited, or sparsely occupied by Indian 
tribes, of which the number is wholly unknown. A 
considei*able aboriginal population exists in the dis- 
trict of Peten, in the north of Guatemala, and there are 
several tribes, such as the Xicaques, Paj^as, Tonglas, l^ 
Woolwas, Towkas, llamas, Guatusos, etc., in the Atlan- 
tic divisions of Plonduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica, 
none of Avhom have entered, as an clement, in any cal- 
culation of the absolute population of the country. 

The royal census of the Captain-Generalcy of Guate- 
mala (which included not only the five states of Central 
America, but also the i)resent state of Chiapa, and the 
district of Soconusco in Mexico), made in 1778, gave 



40 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

an aoforeerate of 805, 339 inhabitants. Under this cen- 
sus Guatemala (exclusive of Chiapa and Soconusco) 
had 392,272 inhabitants. 

San Salvador (including Sonsonate, which is now 
one of its departments) had 161,954 inhabitants. 

The diocese of Comayagua, comprising the Province 
(now State) of Honduras, had 88,143 inhabitants. 
Thirteen years subsequently, in 1791, an enumeration 
was made of the population of the same diocese, by its 
bishop, which gave 93,500, or an increase of 5,357. 
But, as I have already said, these returns merit but lit- 
tle confidence, and can not be made the basis of any 
estimate of the actual population of Central America. 

In 1825, the state authorities of Guatemala under- 
took a census, which resulted in an aggregate of 507, 126 
inhabitants, being an augmentation, in forty-seven years, 
of only 114,854. Another attempt was made, by the 
same authorities, twelve years later, in 1837, which 
gave a total of 490,787, or less by 16,339 than in 
1825 ! This census was discredited at the time, and 
Don Jose de la Valle, a statistician of some eminence, 
made a calculation that the state then contained 600,000 
inhabitants. 

A census was ordered by the general government of 
the Republic of Central America in 1834, but the re- 
sults were imperfect, and have never been published. 

In the absence, then, of direct returns, we must have 
recourse to other means of calculation. In this we are 
assisted by partial returns of births and deaths in the 
various districts of several of the states. 

Humboldt deduced, from a careful observation of the 
laws of population in Mexico, that the proportion of 
births was as 1 to 17, and of deaths as 1 to 30 of the 
whole population, and that the proportion of births to 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 41 

deaths in the couiitiy at hirge was as 17 to 10. Now, 
as Mexico, in general aspect, climate, and other condi- 
tions, corresponds very closely with Central America, 
we might assume tliat the latter country would show 
but a slight deviation from the same law. 

But the data which we possess go to show that the 
proportion of births to deaths in Central America is 
considerably greater than in Mexico. In Costa Rica, 
according to the tables for 1850, the births were 4767, 
and the deaths 178G, being a proportion of buths to 
deaths of -17 to 1 7. Again : in Guatemala, for the year 
1852, we have the following returns, exclusive of the 
district of Peten: births, 38,858; deaths, 21,298, or 
about 10 deaths to 19 births. In San Salvador we have 
similar results. In the Department of Sonsonate, for 
the six months ending December 30th, 1853, the births 
were 1731, deaths 879, or about 10 deaths to 21 Inrths. 
In the Department of Cuscatlan, for the three months 
ending December 30th, 1853, births 505, deaths 104. 
This department seems to be remarkably salubrious. 
For the first six months of the year 1849, the births 
were reported at 1900, and the deaths 403. In the De- 
partment of San Salvador, embracing the capital, for 
the last three months of 1849, births 786, deaths 222. 
In the Department of La Paz, however, which is com- 
paratively low and unhealthy, this excess of Inrths is 
not sustained, since, for the last quarter of 1853, we 
find, births 353, deaths 244. Tlie folloAving statistical 
tables will serve to verify these results : 



42 



CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 



GUATEMALA. 

Official Statement of Marriages, Births, and Deaths in the State of Guatemala for 
the Year 1852, exclusive of the District of Peten. 



Departments. 



* Guatemala . . 
Sacatepequez 
Amatitlan . 
Escuintla. . 

t Vera Paz . . 
Santa Rosa 
Jutiapa . . . 
Cliiquimula 
Izabal. . . . 
Cliimaltenango 
Quezaltenang 
Sucliitepequez 
Totonicapam . 

Solola 

San Marcos . . 
Huehuetenango 



Total 



Marriages. 



240 
170 
130 
135 
828 
149 
113 
562 
32 
330 
403 
216 
905 
658 
592 
373 



5836 



Births. 



3416 
1688 
1481 

825 
4260 
1313 

790 
4155 
67 
2550 
3119 
1682 
5307 
3083 
2711 
2411 



38858 



Deaths. 



1848 
1182 
1073 

421 
1642 

466 

291 

2127 

85 

2192 

1560 

736 
2896 
1697 
1744 
1338 



21298 



Increase. 



1568 
506 
408 
404 

2618 
847 
499 

2028 

-18 
358 

1559 
946 

2411 

1386 
867 

1073 



17478 



The unhealthy port of Izabal, or Golfo Dulce, decreased in 
population 18. 

* The births and deaths in the city of Guatemala were, in 1805, according to the 
Kalendario of that year : 

Marriages 205 

Births 1360 

Deaths 1337 

In 1823, according to Thompson, who gave 50,000 as the aggregate population, 
the births and deaths were as follows : 

Births 1551 

Deaths 729 

In 1854, according to official tables : 

Marriages 172 

Births 1467 

Deaths 548 

t In 1833, it was calculated by Don Jose Asmitia, then Secretary of State of 
Guatemala, that the Department of Vera Paz, exclusive of Peten, contained 60,237 
inhabitants. The number of marriages in that year was 645 ; births, 4048 ; deaths, 
1186. 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 



43 



COSTA RICA. 

Official Slatcment of Marriages, Births, and Deaths in the Stale of Costa Rica 

for 1850. 



Departments. 


Marriages. 


Births. 


Deaths. 


Increase. 


San Jose 

Cartago 

Ilcrcdia 


178 
165 
128 
131 
62 ■ 


1492 
956 
911 
939 
471 


466 
293 
362 
424 
223 


1026 
663 
549 
515 

248 


iUcjuela 

Guanacastc 

Total 


664 


4769 


1768 


3001 



SAN SALVADOR— Imperfect. 






Departments. Marriages. 


Births. 


Deaths. 


Increase. 1 


Sonsonate . . (6 months) . 
Cuscatlan . . (9 months) . 
San Salvador (3 months) . 
La Paz .... (3 months) . 
Total 


173 
135 

98 
19 


1731 

2405 
786 
353 


879 
816 
222 
244 


852 

1589 

564 

109 


425 


5275 


2161 


3114 



SUMMARY. 



States. 


Births. 


Deaths. 


Increase. 


Guatemala . (1852) . . . 

Costa Rica . (1850) . . . 

San Salvador (imp.) . . . 

Total 


38,856 
4,769 

5,275 


21,298 
1,768 
2,161 


17,578 
3,001 
3,114 


48,900 


25,227 


23,693 



It results, therefore, that the proportions of births to 
deaths in Central America is very nearly as 244 to 126, 
or about 20 to 10. The State of Honduras, which is 
generally remarkably salubrious, would probably shoAv 
about the same proportion with Costa Kica, while Nic- 
aragua, although comparatively low, would not fall 
much behind Guatemala. 

Now, assuming the proportion of births and deaths, 
as fixed by Humboldt in treating of Mexico, to be in 
respect to the aggregate population as 1 to 17 of the 
former, and 1 to 30 of the latter, we deduce (38,858 x 
17) + (21,298x30)-2 = 648,763 as the population of 



4,4: CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

Guatemala. There are many reasons for believing, 
however, that this nmnber falls considerably short of 
the truth. In Costa Rica, the total population, exclu- 
sive of the wild tribes, Avas put down, under the last 
census, at 95,000, which, it will be seen by reference to 
preceding tables, gives a proportion of births 1 to 20, 
and of deaths 1 to 64, of the entire population. 

Senor Barberena, of Guatemala, to whom the returns 
for that state for 1846 were referred, calculated that 
the births were in the proportion of 1 to 25 of the total 
population. The births for the year in which he ^vrote 
(1849) being 36,998, he deduced 934,495 as the popu- 
lation of the state. I am, however, inclined to think 
that this is too high an estimate. If we adopt the ra- 
tio of births and deaths in Costa Rica as applicable to 
Guatemala, we have 1,013,126 as the population of the 
state — a number clearly too great. 

I prefer to estimate the total population of Guate- 
mala for 1852 at 787,000, Avhich gives a proportion of 
births as 1 to 21, and of deaths as 1 to 38 of the entire 
population, equivalent to about 850,000 on the first 
day of January, 1855. 

Costa Rica, according to the last census, had 100,174 
inhabitants, including 5000 savages, in the proportion 
of 90,000 whites and Ladinos to 10,000 Indians, as 
follows : 





COSTA RICA. 




Departments. 




Poptilation. 


San Jose 


. 


, 31,749 


Cartago 


. . • • 


23,209 


Heredia . 


. • • • • 


, 17,289 


Guanacaste . 


• • • • • 


9,112 


Alejuela 


• • • • « 


, 12,575 


Punta Arenas 


• • • • • 


1,240 


Savage Tribes 


. 


. 5,000 



Total . . . 100,174 



Chap. III.] • remarks on population. 45 

Don Felipe Molina, in his '■'■ Bosqucjo de Costa Rica,'" 
regards this result as short of the truth, and estimates 
that the actual population of Costa Rica in 1850 was 
not far from 150,000; but his views upon this point 
are not sustained by any reliable data. The present 
population of Costa Rica, under the ratio of increase 
shoA\Ti by the returns of 1850, must now (1855) be lit- 
tle short of 125,000. 

In respect to Nicaragua, we have the authority of 
Don Miguel Sarabia, its last governor under the crown, 
who "sn'ote a memoir on that state in 1823.'=' He 
says, "The population at the last 2>((d^"on (registry), 
in the year 1813, gave a total of 149,751 inhabitants. 
We know this to have been imperfect, having been 
taken by unskillful persons, and under many difficul- 
ties. The population in many sections is dispersed and 
inaccessible, and an enumeration is associated in the 
minds of the vul2:ar with ideas of contributions and 
personal service. An enumeration made in 1800, al- 
though probably not more correct, gave a population 
of 159, 000. It would thus appear that there had been 
a diminution of numbers ; but such is not the flict, as 
is evident from all concurrent testimony, the growth 
of the towns, and the circumstance that there have been 
neither famines, wars, or other causes to produce such 
a result." Nevertheless, taking the census of 1813 for 
the basis of his calculation, and estimating the decen- 
nial increase at fifteen per cent., he arrives at a total of 
174,213 in 1823. But, retaining the same elements of 
calculation, on the basis of the census of 1800, we would 
have, in 1823, a population of 212,000. 

According to the returns of a census attempted in 

* Bosqucjo Politico Estadislico de Nicaragua, formado in cl aiio de 1823, por 
Miguel Gonzalez Sarabia, General de Brigada. Guatemala, 1824. 



46 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

Nicarao^ua in 1846, the total population of that state, 
exclusive of the Department of Guanacaste (in dispute 
with Costa Bica), was 257,000, distributed among five 
departments, as follows : 



NICARAGUA— 1846. 




Departments. 


Population. 


Meridional ..... 


. 20,000 


Oriental ..... 


95,000 


Occidental . ... 


. 90,000 


Septentrional of Segovia 


12,000 


" " Matagalpa 


. 40,000 


Total . 


e 257,000 



Assuming these returns to be correct, we may safe- 
ly estimate the present population of Nicaragua at 
300,000. 

San Salvador has, relatively to its extent, much the 
largest population of any of the states of Central 
America, but we are without complete census returns, 
except for a single department. In the year 1849, the 
Department of Cuscatlan had a total of 62,361 inhab- 
itants, distributed in four districts, as follows : District 
of Suchitoto, 13,234; Cojutepeque, 25,737; Chalate- 
nango, 14,011; Tejutla, 9379 = 62,361. Of these, 
16,165 were men, 17,903 women, 15,026 boys, and 
13,317 girls. The town of Cojutepeque had 11,072 
inhabitants; that of Suchitoto, 6251; Ilobasco, 4259; 
and Chalatenango, 3052. 

Now, by reference to the preceding returns of births 
and deaths in several of the departments of this state, 
we find that the quarterly increase in the department 
of Cuscatlan is 523, in that of Sonsonate 425, in that 
of San Salvador 564, and in that of La Paz 109, from 
Av^hich we may legitimately infer that San Salvador and 
Sonsonate have respectiyely about the same number of 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 47 

inhabitants with Cuscatlan, and that La Paz has about 
one fourth as many. Of the two remaining departs 
ments, San Miguel has probably more than Cuscatlan, 
and San Vicente two thirds as many. La Paz has also 
more than mij^ht be inferred from the returns of births 
and deaths for the single quarter of 1852, which may 
have been exceptional and unfavorable. 

Assnminjx these elements of calculation to be ofood, 
and that the pojDulation of the Department of Cuscat- 
lan has had a constant annual increase of about 2000, 
as evinced by the returns of births and deaths, we have 
the follomng estimate of the population of the entire 
state at the commencement of tlie 23resent year : 

SAN SALVADOR— 1855. 
Departments. Population. 

Cuscatlan 7o,000 

Sonsonate . . ... 75,000 

San Salvador . . ... 80,000 

San Miguel 80,000 

La Paz 28,000 

SanYicente 56,000 

Total .... 394,000 

The data necessary for calculating the population 
of Honduras are even feAver than we possess concern- 
ing the other states of Central America. We have 
neither absolute returns of population, nor returns of 
births and deaths. The only facts which bear upon 
the matter are the bishop's census of the province in 
1791, which gave 93,500 as the total population, and 
the census of the single department of Gracias in 1834, 
which gave 30,017 inhabitants. "We may neverthe- 
less assume for this state a ratio of increase as great 
as for any other state of Central America, for none 
has a climate more salubrious. Taking the same ra- 
tio of increase with Costa Rica, the Department of 



48 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

Gracias would now have 50,000 inhabitants, which 
number, after having traveled over much of the de- 
partment, I am convinced is not far from the truth. 
Now, of the remaining departments of Honduras, it is 
probable that Sta. Barbara and Choluteca about equal 
Gracias in population, while Tegucigalpa and Coma- 
yagua exceed, and Yoro and Olancho fall below it in 
this respect. Having visited and jDassed through all 
of the departments except Yoro and Olancho, I esti- 
mate their respective populations as follows, in round 
numbers, and exclusive of the wild Indian tribes in 
the eastern section of the state : 

HONDURAS— 1855. 
Departments. Population. 

Sta. Barbara 45,000 

Gracias . . . . . 55,000 

Comayagua 70,000 

Tegucigalpa 65,000 

Choluteca 50,000 

Olancho 45,000 

Yoro 20,000 

Total .... 350,000 
These calculations are all exclusive of the Indians, 
who are not directly incorporated in the civil organiza- 
tion of the various states, or who fall under the local 
denomination of '■'■Trihus Errantes'' — a misapplied des- 
ignation, since all the Central American Indians are 
fixed in their habits of life. The nearest approach to 
a nomad life is found among the mongrel savages 
called "Moscos" or "Mosquitos," on what is known as 
the "Mosquito Shore." They are a mixed breed of 
negroes and Indians, who derive their principal sup- 
port from the creeks and lagoons on the coast, to which 
their residence is strictly confined. It is not probable 
that they number more than 6000. The number of 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 



49 



the Xicaques, Payas, Towkas, Woolwas, and Ramas, 
which intervene between the coast and the Spanish 
settlements, can not be accurately estimated. The 
Guatnsos, T.'damancas, and other tribes in Nicaragua 
and Costa Kica are also onutted in tlic a])ove esti- 
mates, as are also the Itzaes and affiliated families, La- 
candones, Manches, etc., occupying the northern parti^^ 
of the Department of Vera Paz, in Guatemala, and who 
are supposed to be numerous. Nearly all of these 
Indians admit a qualified allegiance to the various 
states within which they fall, but the relationship is 
scarcely more than nominal. Thus, in 1836, the gov- 
ernment of Central America made a kind of treaty 
with the Manches, in Avliich the Indians acknowledged 
the sovereignty of the republic, but were to be exempt 
from the operations of its laws for six }'ears, and, fur- 
thermore, were never to be called in question as to their 
religion, nor disturbed in their practice of ])olygamy. 
Wherever the governments assume to exercise juris- 
diction, it is through Indian officials, who nevertheless 
administer affairs after the immemorial manner of the 
Indians themselves, as in the case of the Naluials of 
the Balsam Coast of San Salvador, who live almost 
within sight of the capital of the state. 

The aggregate population of Central America, as de- 
duced from tlic foregoing data, is as follows : 

central AMERICA— 185.'5. 



States. 


Area in Square 
Milus. 


Population. 


Number to Square 
Mde. 


Onatcniala 

Honduras 

San Sahatlor . . . 

Nicarafjua 

Costa Rica .... 

Total 


43,380 
39, GOO 
9,594 
49,500 
13,590 


850,000 
350,000 
394,000 
300,000 
125,000 


20 nearly. 

9 
41 

6 
10 nearly. 


155,664 


2,019,000 


13 



D 



50 



CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 



Scanty as this j^opulation seems to be, it is never- 
theless, relatively to the area of Central America, much 
laro-er than that of any of the Spanish American states. 
Chili has scarcely two thirds as many inhabitants to 
the square mile, and Mexico but little more than half 
as many, as Avill appear from the subjoined Table, com- 
piled from the latest and most authentic sources. 

COMPARATIVE TABLE. 



Countries. 


Square Miles. 


Population. 


Number to Square 

Mile, 


Central America . . 

Mexico 

New Granada .... 

Venezuela 

Ecuador 

Peru 


155,934 
762,000 
380,000 
410,000 
320,000 
405,000 
380,000 
170,000 
2,720,000 


2,019,000 
7,853,000 
1,360,000 
887,100 
550,000 
1,500,000 
1,200,000 
1,300,000 
4,450,000 


13 
10 

If 

2 nearly. 


Bolivia 

Chili 

Brazil 



The data bearing upon the proportion of sexes in 
the aggregate population, although too imperfect to be 
worth presenting, nevertheless go to show that, as in 
Mexico, there is a considerable preponderance of fe- 
males over males. The disproportion between the sex- 
es in births is not so great as in deaths ; for while there 
are nearly as many males born as females, considerably 
more of the former die annually than of the latter. 
This is confirmed by general observation, since the fact 
that there are more old women than old men could 
scarcely escape the notice of the most careless traveler. 
This result is not to be ascribed to any supposed ex- 
emption of females from fatigue and exposure, as they 
really perform an equal share of the labor of the coun- 
try, and, excepting in the towns, are quite as much ex- 
posed to influences detrimental to health as the males. 
They are, however, much less addicted to drunkenness, 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 51 

a vice which, under the tropics, is rapid and certain in 
its consequences. Tlie returns of the partial census of 
Nicaragua, in 1846, gave for the Department Occiden- 
tal (Leon) 25,870 males, and 48,058 females; total, 
73,928, or a proportion of almost two females to one 
male. Assumin": that there are no errors in these fi^- 
ures, we can only partially account for the disparity by 
ascribing it to the wars which afflicted that department 
for several years previously, and in whicli its inhabit- 
ants maintained an obstinate conflict, single handed, 
not only against the remaining districts of the state, 
but against the combined forces of Hondiu-as and San 
Salvador. The Department of Cuscatlan, in San Sal- 
vador, as we have seen, had, in 1849, a poj^ulation of 
16,165 men, and 17,903 women, an excess of 1838 
women ; while, on the other hand, the boys were 15, 026, 
girls 13,317, or an excess of 1709 boys.* 

The relative proportions of whites, mixed (Ladinos), 
and Indians, in the populations of the various Span- 
ish American states, is a subject of 2:)rofound interest, 
and to the modern student will appear of vital con- 
sequence in all speculations on tlie condition, capaci- 
ties, and destinies of the people of those countries. 
But liere we have also to regret the absence of reliable 
data ; for while it is the concurrent testimon}' of all in- 
telligent and observing men in Central America that 
tlie pure wliites are not onh' relativeh' l)ut absolutely 
decreasing in numl)er.s, and that tlie pure Indians are 
rapidly increasing, and the Ladinos more and more ap- 
proximating to the aboriginal type, }'et the statistics 

* " In Central America, an extraordinary excess is ohser\'ablc in the births of 
white and Ladina females over those of the males ; tlic former bcinff in the propor- 
tion to the latter as six, or at least as five to four. Among the Indians, the births 
of males and females arc about equal." — Col. Galindo, Journ. Roy. Gcog. Sue. uf 
London, \o\. vi., p. 126. 



52 



CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 



bearino- directly upon the subject are imperfect or whol- 
ly wantiiio". The actual Bishop of Guatemala, Sr. Don 
Garcia Pelaez, writing in 1841, and proceeding upon 
the census of 1837 and other data within his reach, es- 
timated the population of Central America, at that 
time, to be, Spaniards and white Creoles, 89,979 ; La- 
dinos, 619,167; Indians, 681,367; total, 1,390,513. 
This calculation allows one white inhabitant to sixteen 
mixed and Indian, which proportion, I entertain no 
doubt, has now decreased to, at most, one of the former 
to twenty of the latter. 

Don Miguel Sarabia, whose memoir on Nicaragua, 
written in 1823, is elsewhere quoted, estimated the 
entire population of that province at that period at 
174,213, and gave it as his judgment that about two 
fifths, or 79,680, were Indians, two fifths Ladinos, and 
less than one fifth whites." The latter he considered 
as diminishing in numbers, and such, he observes, ' ' is 
their general tendency.'''' 

Colonel Galindo, an intelligent Irishman, in the serv- 
ice of the old Federation of Central America, in a com- 
munication to the Royal Geographical Society of Lon- 
don, estimated the entire population of Central Amer- 
ica, at the period when he wrote (1837 ?), at 1, 900,000, 
divided as follows : 



States. 


Indians. 


Ladinos. 


Whites. 


Totals. 


Guatemala . . 
Honduras . . . 
San Salvador . 
Nicaragua. . . 
Costa E,ica . . 
Total . . . 


450,000 

90,000 

120,000 

25,000 


150,000 
240,000 
230,000 
120,000 


100,000 

60,000 

80,000 

110,000 

125,000 


700,000 
300,000 
400,000 i 
350,000 i 
150,0001 


685,000 


740,000 


475,000 


1,900,000 1 



The proportion of whites is largely over-estimated by 
Galindo. He puts down Honduras as Avithout an In- 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 53 

dian population, when there can be little doubt that at 
least one third, if not one half of its inhabitants, apart 
from the wild tribes, are of pure Indian stock. 

Mr. Thompson, who was British commissioner to the 
old Federation of Central America in 1823, estimated 
the relative proportions of the people as follows : 

Whites and Creoles .... One fifth. 

]\Iixcd Classes .... Two fifths. 

Indians Two fifths. 

He estimated the Europeans, " or perfect whites," at 
not more than 5000. Mr. Crowe, referring specifically 
to Guatemala, calculates the proportions as follows : 

Indians ..... Three fifths. 

Ladinos .... One fourth. 

Whites ..... One fortieth. 

Miilattoes .... One eiglitieth. 

Negroes ..... One fiftieth. 

Sambos .... One one hundredth. 

Ladinos, it may be observed, is a term signifying 
gallant men, and is understood to appl}' to the descend- 
ants of wliites and Indians. It is only used in Central 
America. 

The following Talde j^robably exhibits very nearly 
the exact proportions in Central America, so far as they 
may be deduced from existing data and from personal 
observation :'=' 

* The various classes in Mexico were estimated by Mr. Brautz Mayer in 1842 
us follows : 

Indians 4,000.000 

Whites 1,000,000 

Negroes fi,000 

Mixed 2.009,000 

Total 7,015,000 

This estimate gives a ratio of whites as one to seven of the entire population. In 
some of the states the proportion is greater, in others less. In Peru, Humboldt 
calculated the white population as 12 in 100, or about one to nine. 



54 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

Whites 100,000 

Mixed 800,000 

Negroes , . . . . . 10,000 

Indians 1,109,000 

Total . . . 2,019,000 

From the foregoing facts and observations, it ma}^ 
be deduced generally that Central America is relative- 
ly the most populous portion of Spanish America ; that, 
while its population is increasing in a constant and rap- 
id ratio, the exotic or European element is not only de- 
creasing relatively, but in fact ; and that the direct tend- 
ency of things is to its speedy absorption in the indig- 
enous or aboriginal races. In this respect, as indeed 
in its moral and intellectual condition. Central Amer- 
ica, not less than all Spanish America, seems to furnish 
a striking illustration of the laws which have been es- 
tablished as the results of anthropological inquiries 
during the past fifty years. Neither the statesman nor 
political economist can safely overlook or disregard these 
results, since, by the course of events, and the multipli- 
cation of means and facilities of communication, nations 
and races are more and more brought in contact, and 
the question of the nature and character of their rela- 
tionship made of immediate and practical importance. 

It may be claimed without hesitation that the wide 
physical, intellectual, and moral differences which all 
history and observation have distinguished as existing 
between the various families of man, can be no longer 
regarded as the consequences of accident or of circum- 
stances ; that is to say, it has come to be understood 
that their physical, moral, and intellectual traits are 
radical and permanent, and that there can be no ad- 
mixture of widely-separated families, or of superior 
with inferior races, Avhich can be harmonious, or oth- 



Chap. III.] remarks on population. 55 

erwise than disastrous in its consequejices. Anthro- 
pological science has determined the existence of two 
laws of vital importance in their application to men 
and nations : 

First. That in all cases where a free amalgamation 
takes place between two different stocks, unrestrained 
by what is sometimes called prejudice, but Avhich is, in 
fact, a natural instinct, the result is the final and ab- 
solute absorption of one in the other. This absorption 
is more rapid as the races or families thus brought in 
contact approximate in type, and in proportion as one 
or the other preponderates in numbers ; that is to say. 
Nature perpetuates no human hybrids, as, for instance, 
a permanent race of mulattoes. 

Second. That all violations of the natural distinc- 
tions of race, or of those instincts which were designed 
to perpetuate the superior races in their purity, invari- 
ably entail the most deplorable results, affecting the 
bodies, intellects, and moral perceptions of the nations 
who are thus blind to the wise designs of Nature, and 
unmindful of her laws. In other words, the offspring 
of such combinations or amalgamations are not only 
generally deficient in physical constitution, in intellect, 
and in moral restraint, but to a degree which often con- 
trasts unfavorably with any of the original stocks. 

In no respect are these deficiencies more obvious than 
ill matters affecting government. We need only point 
to the anarchical states of Spanish America to verify 
the truth of the propositions here laid down. In Cen- 
tral and South America, and Mexico, we find a people 
not only demoralized from the unrestrained association 
of different races, but also the superior stocks becoming 
gradually absorbed in the loAver, and their institutions 
disappearing under the relative barbarism of which the 



56 CENTRAL AMERICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. III. 

latter are the exponents. If existing causes and con- 
ditions continue to operate, many years can not pass 
before some of these countries will have relapsed into 
a state not far removed from that in which they were 
found at the period of the conquest. 

In Mexico there are less than two millions of whites, 
or of persons having a preponderance of Avhite blood, 
out of a population of eight millions ; in Central Amer- 
ica, less than two hundred thousand out of two mill- 
ions ; and in South America at large, the proportions 
are nearly the same. It is imjDOSsible, Avhile conceding 
all the influence which can be rationally claimed for 
other causes, to resist the conviction that the disasters 
which have befallen those countries are due to a grand 
practical misconception of the just relations of the races 
which compose them. The Indian does not possess, 
still less the South Sea Islander, and least of all the 
negro, the capacity to comprehend the j)rinciples Avhich 
enter into the higher order of civil and political organ- 
izations. His instincts and his habits are inconsistent 
with their development, and no degree of education can 
teach him to understand and practice them. 

In the Sandwich Islands there are about 60,000 na- 
tives still remaining. It may be alleged that they have 
constituted and sustained a regular government, and 
have thus evinced the requisite conditions to enter into 
the great family of nations. But it is notorious that, 
whatever there exists of government, both in its origin 
and administration, is the work of foreigners and of 
white men. 

To the Indians upon our southwestern border these 
remarks are scarcely less applicable. Under no cir- 
cumstances have the North American Indians exhib- 
ited an appreciation of the value, or a disposition to 



Chap. III.] remarks ox population. 67 

abide by the reciprocal obligations involved in a gov- 
ernment of the people. Their ideas of government, 
like those of the Arabs, and the nomadic hordes of Cen- 
tral Asia, are only consonant with the system called 
patriarchal : ideas which, at this day and in this coun- 
tr}^, are not only wholly inapplicable, but antagonistic 
to those upon Avhich our system is founded. The only 
instance in which they have made a sensible progress 
in the risrht direction is that of the Cherokees, under 
the guidance of chiefs in whose veins flows a predom- 
inance of European blood. And while it maj^ be ad- 
mitted that the Indians of the old Floridian stock are 
in all respects superior t*o the islanders of the Pacific, 
yet neither in industry, docility, or traditional defer- 
ence to authority are they equal to the Indian families 
of Mexico and Central America, where the attempt to 
put the latter on a political and social footing with the 
white man has entailed eternal anarch}', and threatens 
a complete dissolution of the political body. 

In Guatemala, as in Yucatan, it has brought about 
a bloody and cruel war of castes, and in the former 
state has resulted in placing a treacherous and unscru- 
pulous half-breed at the head of affairs, who rules over 
a desolated country with irresponsible sway. Not less 
disastrous has been the result in Mexico, while in Ja- 
maica savao;e nature is fast resumino- her dominion 
over deserted plantations, and the woods begin to 
swarm with lialf-naked negroes, living upon the indig- 
enous fruits of the soil, and already scarcely one de- 
jn^ee removed from their orio-inal barbarism in Africa. 

To the understandino; of intellio-ent and reflectins: 
men, who are superior to the partisan and sectional 
issues of the hour, these considerations can not fail to 
appeal Avith controlling force ; for if the United States, 



58 CENTRAL AMEEICA IN GENERAL. [ChAP. Ill, 

as comjDared with the Spanish American republics, has 
achieved an immeasurable advance in all the elements 
of oreatness, that result is eminently due to the rigid 
and inexorable refusal of the dominant Teutonic stock 
to debase its blood, impair its intellect, lower its moral 
standard, or peril its institutions by intermixture with 
the inferior and subordinate races of man. In obedi- 
ence to the ordinances of Heaven, it has rescued half 
a continent from savage beasts and still more savage 
men, whose period of existence has terminated, and 
who must give place to higher organizations and a su- 
perior life. Short-sighted philanthropy may lament, 
and sympathy drop a tear aS it looks forward to the 
total disappearance of the lower forms of humanity, 
but the laws of Nature are irreversible. Deus vuU — 
it is the will of God! 

From this point of view, it appears that the only 
hope of Central America consists in averting the nu- 
merical decline of its white population, and increasing 
that element in the composition of its people. If not 
brought about by a judicious encouragement of emi- 
gration or an intelligent system of colonization, the 
geographical position and resources of the country in- 
dicate that the end will be attained by those more vi- 
olent means, which among men, as in the material 
world, often anticipate the slower operations of natural 
laws. To avert the temporary yet often severe shocks 
which they occasion, by providing for the necessities 
of the future, is the true mission, and should be the 
highest aim of the patriot and., statesman. Central 
America will be fortunate if she shall be found to 
number among her sons men adequate to the compre- 
hension and control of the circumstances under which 
she is placed, and which are every day becoming more 
complicated and exigent. 



H I D U R A S. 



CHAPTER IV. 

DISCOVERY BOUNDARIES GENERAL ASPECT TOPOGRA- 
PHY, ETC. 

TT was in Honduras that Columbus first planted his 
feet on the continent of America. In 1502, then 
sailing on his fourth voyage, he discovered the island 
of Guanaja (or Bonacca), which he named the Isle of 
Pines. From this island he descried to the south- 
Avard the high mountains of the main land, and, pur- 
suing his course in that direction, on the 14th of Au- 
gust landed at a point which he called Punta de Casi- 
nas (now Cabo de Honduras), and formally took pos- 
session of the country on behalf of the crown of Spain. 
He subsequentl}^ coasted to the eastward, touching at 
the mouth of Pio Tinto, or Black Piver, and finally, 
after great delays and dangers, reached a point where 
the coast, abruptly trending to the southward, form- 
ed a cape, to which, in gratitude for his safet}^, he gave 
the name of '•'' Caho Gracias a Dios,'' Cape Thanks to 
God. He lost a boat, with some sailors, in attempt- 
ing to enter the Great Cape or Wanks Piver, which 
was, in consequence, called Pio del Desastre. From 
Cape Gracias he continued his voyage along what is 
now the Mosquito Shore, called by him Cariay^ to the 
Isthmus of Darien. 

Less than tAvent}" years afterAvard, the conqueror of 



60 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

Mexico, Hernando Cortez, inspired by the accounts of 
vast and poiDulous kingdoms to the southward of the 
prostrate empire of Montezuma, undertook an expe- 
dition into Honduras, which at this time was called 
Hibueras or Higueras. This expedition, both for its 
length, and the difficulties which were encountered and 
overcome in its prosecution, stands, and will forever 
stand, unprecedented and unapproachable in the histo- 
ry of martial adventure. 

Starting from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Cortez 
boldly entered the vast and unknown wilderness which 
intervened between the confines of Mexico and the 
country of which he was in search. For two years he 
struggled among deep morasses, brbad and almost im- 
passable rivers, and high and desert mountains, with 
almost superhuman courage and endurance. At the 
end of that time he reached the point where Columbus 
had made his first landing in Honduras, and there, after 
receiving the submission of the neighboring chiefs, he 
founded the ancient city, now the port, of Truxillo. 

In addition to the names of Columbus and Cortez, 
those of Alvarado, Cristoval de Olid, and Cordova 
appear in the list of daring and zealous captains who 
distinguished themselves in the exploration of the 
country and its reduction to the Spanish crown. But 
it is not my purj^ose to write the history of Spanish 
power in Honduras. Suffice it to say that as early 
as 1540, sixty years before Jamestown was founded, 
and nearly a hundred years before Hudson entered the 
Bay of New York, Honduras had its large and flour- 
ishing cities, and the Audiencia of the Confines had 
been established within its borders. 

Subsequently the seat of the Audiencia was trans- 
ferred to Guatemala, and from that time forward, until 



OhAP. IV.] BOUNDARIES. 61 

the independence of the Spanish American states, Hon- 
duras constituted a part of the kingdom or captain- 
generalcy of Guatemala, which comprised the prov- 
inces or intendencias of Guatemala, Honduras, San 
Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. These threw 
off their allegiance to Spain in 1821, and, assuming the 
rank of sovereign states, soon after united in a confed- 
eracy called the "Rej^ublic of Central America." This 
union, in consequence of internal dissensions and the 
struggles of factions, became practically dissolved in 
1839, since which time, although various efforts have 
been made to revive its provisions, the several states 
have asserted and now exercise their orio:inal sovereisTi 
powers as distinct republics. 

The Republic of Honduras, therefore, comprises the 
territory which pertained to it as a province. It is 
bounded upon the north and east by the Bay of Hon- 
duras and the Caribbean Sea, extending from the mouth 
of the Rio Tinto, lat. 15° 45' K, and long. 88° 30' W., 
to Cape Gracias a Dios, at the mouth of the Rio Wanks 
or Segovia, in lat. 14° 59', and long. 83° 11', being a 
coast-line of about 400 statute miles. Upon the south it 
is bounded by the Republic of Nicaragua. The line of 
division follows the Rio Wanks for about t^^o thirds 
of its length, and thence deflects to the southwest to 
the sources of the Rio Negro, flowing into the Gulf 
of Fonseca. It has a coast-line of about sixty miles on 
this gulf, from the Rio Negro to the Rio Goascoran, 
and embraces the large islands of Tigre, Sacate Grande, 
and Gueguensi. Upon the west and southwest it is 
bounded by the republics of San Salvador and Guate- 
mala. The line of separation is irregular. Commenc- 
ing on the Gulf of Fonseca, at the mouth of the Rio 
Goascoran, it follows that river for about thirty miles 



62 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

in a direction clue north, to the mouth of one of its af- 
fluents from the northwest, called E,io Pescado. From 
the head of this stream it strikes a branch of the Rio 
Torola (flowing southwest into the Hio Lempa), which 
it follows to its mouth. Thence it follows the Rio Lem- 
pa to the mouth of the Rio Sumpul, which it ascends 
nearly to its source, to a point where its waters ap- 
proach those of the Rio Paza, separating San Salva- 
dor from Guatemala. From this point it runs nearly 
northeast, along the mountain chain of Merendon and 
Grita, leaving the town and ruins of Copan about fif- 
teen miles to the southeast, until it strikes the head- 
waters of the small stream called Rio Tinto, which it 
follows to the Bay of Honduras. 

The state is therefore embraced entirely within 83° 
20' and 89° 30' west longitude, and 13°"^ 10' and 16° 
north latitude, and comprises not far from 39,600 
square miles, or about the same area with the State of 
Ohio. 

The large island of Roatan, with its dependencies, 
Guanaja or Bonacca, Utilla, Helena, Barbaretta, and 
Morat, also pertain to Honduras, but are now, under 
the denomination of the "Colony of the Bay Islands," 
forcibly occupied by Great Britain, in violation of the 
rights and sovereignty of Honduras, and of the explicit 
terms of the treaty with the United States of 1850. 
Great Britain has also set up claims to a considerable 
portion of the eastern coast of Honduras, from Cape 
Comorin, or Cape of Honduras, a few miles to the east- 
ward of Truxillo, to Cape Gracias a Dios, on behalf 
of the suppositious "Mosquito King." 

The general physical features of Honduras have been 
indicated in the preceding chapter, on the Geography 
and Topography of Central America. As, however. 



Chap. IY.] topographical features. 63 

the greater part of what follows, in this brief memoir, 
pertains to this state, I am Avarranted in entering more 
into details concerning it. As I have said, its general 
aspect is mountainous ; that is to say, it is traversed 
in various directions by ranges of mountains and hills, 
radiatinor from the common base of the Cordilleras. 
This great chain, which may be regarded as the foun- 
dation and support of the continent, does not, in Hon- 
duras, approach within fifty or sixty miles of the Pa- 
cific. Nor does it throughout maintain its general 
character of an unbroken range, but in its course some- 
times titrns back on itself, forming interior basins or 
valleys, within which are collected the head waters of 
the large streams that traverse the country in the di- 
rection of the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, viewed 
from the Pacific, it presents the general appearance of 
a great natural wall, with a lower range of mountains, 
relieved by volcanic peaks of wonderful regularity of 
outline, intervening between it and the Western Sea. 
It would almost seem that, at one time, the waters of 
the Pacific broke at the very feet of this great mount- 
ain barrier, and that the subordinate coast-range had 
been subsequently thrust up by volcanic forces. In 
San Salvador this conjecture seems to be wholly veri- 
fied ; for the high ridge, averaging some two thousand 
feet in altitude, and which extends from the volcano 
of San Miguel to that of Apeneca, separated from the 
true Cordilleras by the parallel valley of the River 
Lempa, is throughout of volcanic origin. Not less 
than eleven volcanic peaks bristle along its summit ; 
and the traveler rides from one end of the state to the 
other over an almost unbroken bed of scorice and ash- 
es, largely mixed with pumice, occasionally relieved by 
beds of lava and volcanic stones. In Nicaragua this 



64 REPUBLIC OF HOA^DURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

volcanic range subsides for intervals, and is only mark- 
ed by high cones and broken craters, while the Cordil- 
leras trend away to the southeast on the northern bor- 
der of the transverse basin of the Nicaraguan lakes. 

As I have said, Honduras has but a narrow frontage 
of about sixty miles on the Pacific, and within this 
limit the volcanic coast-range is wholly wanting. Its 
place is supplied by the high islands, of volcanic origin, 
pertaining to the state, in the Bay of Fonseca. 

The northern and eastern coast of Honduras pre- 
sents several bold groups of mountains, which are the 
ends of the dependent ranges radiating north nnd east 
from the Cordilleras. These subordinate ranges strike 
the northern coast diagonally, and lap by each other 
in such a manner as to appear from the sea like an 
unbroken chain. Hence it has occurred that in some 
of the charts of that coast, although the mouths of the 
large rivers flowing from the interior are indicated, the 
rivers themselves are rendered impossible by a contin- 
uous chain of mountains, represented as skirting the 
shore at a very short distance inland. 

The Cordilleras proper, or the great dividing ridge 
which separates the waters flowing into the Pacific 
from those falling into the Atlantic, traverses the state 
in a general direction northwest and southeast. Its 
course, however, is serpentine, and at one point, at least, 
it is interrupted by a large transverse valley, of which, 
as offering probably the most favorable route for a rail- 
way between the tAvo seas, I shall have occasion to 
speak farther. Starting from the high j^lateaus of 
Guatemala, this range pursues a course nearly east 
until it reaches the frontier of Honduras, where it is 
deflected to the southeast, while a higher spur, or range, 
not inferior in elevation to the "Sierra Madre," or 



Chap. IV.] mountain chains. 65 

Mother Mountain, runs off east by north to the Bay 
of Honduras. At the pomt of separation, this range 
is called the Mountains of Merendon, afterward Grita, 
and nearer the coast, the Mountains of Espiritu Santo. 
On the coast itself, where it sustains the majestic height 
of between seven and eight thousand feet, it is called 
the Mountains of Omoa. Along its northern base 
flows the Rio Motagua, rising near the city of Guate- 
mala, and falling into the Bay of Honduras ; and at 
its feet, on the south, flows the Bio Chamelicon, which 
in turn is separated from the parallel river Santiago 
by only a range of hills, terminating in the broad plain 
of Sula, near the mouth of the Biver Ulua. 

Following the course of the Sierra Madre, we find it, 
at the distance of a few leagues from the Mountains of 
Merendon, involving itself in a tangled mass or knot 
of mountains known as the Mountains of Selaque. In- 
termediately lies the large valley or plain of Sensenti, 
in which the Bio Santiago takes its rise. This great 
plain is not less than thirty miles long, by from ten to 
twenty wide, and is almost shut in by mountains. Its 
only outlet is the narrow valley, or rather gorge, through 
which it is drained by the Bio Higuito or Talgua. 

The Mountains of Selaque constitute one of the prin- 
cipal centres of elevation in Honduras, then' summits 
rising to the height of between eight and ten thousand 
feet. The uppermost branch of the Biver Santiago, 
called at various points Talgua, Higuito, Alas, and Bio 
de la Valle, bends around these mountains on the north 
and west. Another branch, the Bio Mejicotc or Bio 
Grande de Gracias, separates them on the east from the 
Mountains of Puca, with their lofty peak, and from the 
terraced Mountains of Opalaca or Intibucat, with their 
truncated summits and elevated plains, on which flour- 

E 



QQ REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

ish the cereal grains, and tlie fruits of the temperate 
zone. 

Next in order comes the valley of the Rio Sta. Bar- 
bara, one of the princij)al affluents of the Santiago, 
which, below the point of junction, is often .called the 
Venta. The Rio Sta. Barbara, like the Santiago, has 
its sources in high plains, the principal of which is the 
valley or plain of Otoro, only separated from that of 
Comayagua by the group of mountains known as the 
Montecillos. These are formed by the true range of 
the Cordilleras, which turns abruptly from its general 
east by south course to a direction due north, and final- 
ly loses itself in diverging ranges toward the coast. 
These divergences create another mountain-bound val- 
ley, in the centre of which lies the Lake of Yojoa or 
Taulebe. 

We now come to the most remarkable topographical 
feature of the state, considered in reference to the fa- 
cilities which it offers for the grand economic purposes 
of travel and commerce between the oceans. At the 
eastern base of the Montecillos range, where the inter- 
ruption of the Cordilleras is complete, lies the plain of 
Comayagua, from which, extending due north to the 
Atlantic Ocean, is the valley of the Bio Humuya, and, 
extending due south to the Pacific, is the valley of the 
Bio Goascoran — altogether constituting a great trans- 
verse valley reaching from sea to sea. These two riv- 
ers may be said to rise in the same plain, for they both 
have their sources side by side in the slight dividing 
ridge or swell of land which defines its southern ex- 
tremity. 

The plain of Comayagua has an extreme length of 
perhaps forty miles, by a general width of from five to 
fifteen miles. Its longest axis is nearly due north and 



Chap. IV.] plain of comayagua. 67 

south, coinciding with the general direction of the two 
rivers already named. It slopes ahnost imperceptibly 
toward the north, and is watered by the Rio Humuya, 
which runs through its centre. It is separated from 
the considerable plain of Espino on the north by low 
hills, which alone prevent the two plains from being re- 
garded as one. Together, these two plains, both of sur- 
passing beauty of scenery, fertility of soil, and salubrity 
of climate, occupy nearly one third of the distance be- 
tween the Bay of Honduras and that of Fonseca. 

Passing the plain of Comayagua, the Cordilleras are 
resumed in a great mass or group of high mountains, 
known toward the north as the Mountains of Comaya- 
gua, and on the south as the Mountains of Lej)aterique. 
They extend about eighty miles from north to south, 
and near the centre send oiF a high range known as the 
Mountains of Ule, around which, almost describing a 
circle, flows the Rio Choluteca. 

The valley of the Rio Choluteca, after that river 
turns the flank of the Ule Mountains, is broad and fer- 
tile. As it approaches the Bay of Fonseca, it widens 
into extensive, densely-wooded alluvions, which never- 
theless are so high as to be above overflows, and are 
without swamps or marshes. Dependent upon this 
valley is a subordinate one, of great beauty, called Valle 
de Yuguare. 

Nearly to the eastward of the high mountains of 
Comayagua, after passing the river and valley of Sula- 
00, we come to a knot or group of high mountains, 
called the Mountains of Sulaco. Standing almost in 
the centre of the state, it sends the streams which have 
their rise in its gorges to every point of the compass. 
Here the great River Wanks or Segovia, reaching the 
Atlantic at Cape Gracias a Dios, takes its origin, as do 



68 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

also the large rivers Aguan or Roman, and Tinto or 
Black River, flowing north into the Bay of Honduras, 
and the tributaries of the Choluteca, flowing south into 
the Pacific. From this elevated centre also radiate 
several extensive ranges of mountains, scarcely inferior 
to then' parent in elevation. That which extends to 
the northeast, separating the numerous rivers flowing 
into the Bay of Honduras from the valley of the Rio 
Wanks or Segovia, is called the Mountains of Misoco. 
The range which extends to the north, and which term- 
inates its numerous spurs in the high peaks of Con- 
grehoy, frowning over the Bay of Honduras, is called 
the Mountains of Pija, while the chain which pursues 
a tortuous course to the southwest, and finally skirts 
the northern border of the transverse valley of the Nic- 
araguan lakes, is called the Mountains of Chili. The 
latter may be regarded as the true Cordilleras. At the 
base of the Mountains of Sulaco, to the east and north- 
east, are the broad and elevated plains or terraces of 
Olancho and Yoro, celebrated, even in Central Amer- 
ica, for the number and excellence of their cattle. The 
rivers on this slope of the continent abound in gold- 
washings, and may perhaps furnish, when the country 
becomes better known, a supply of gold scarcely less 
than that which has been obtained from California. 
Unfortunately, most of the wide region between the 
Mountains of Sulaco and the Atlantic, embracing near- 
ly half of the whole territory of the state, is uninhab- 
ited except by detached Indian tribes. But little is 
known of the country, except that it is very diversified, 
and rich in the nature of its soil and the variety of its 
minerals. 

The northern coast of Honduras presents a diversi- 
fied surface. A portion is flat, and covered with vast 



rprliral Section 

[refill 

Puerto Caballos ria Puin of C()mayagua 

h) tiie Bay of Fonseca 



fiorizniital Scale I Yerhrai S 
6* Milej to au- tirkj aWOJrcHT) 



crtle 
tile InrK. 



Vfrfical Spcfiou 

ll•omSA^frA Ro8a Honduras, .Soiillimid 

to UiePAcirc Ocean. 

Homoak-l Scale, I Vertu-al Scale 

lOlHes toflieiidi. j 2400Acl to thefiidi. 




Yertical Serhoit 

Lion of Nicaragua, ti. Llanos nt 

Saota Rosa Honduras . 

lionzoiital Scale 1 Vertical Scale 
10 llilES -to flu- IidLJ 24()0feeHj*i: Bui 






Seciioii 

^DURAS.Soufevad 

c Ocean. 

Vertiral Scale, 
2400Jeel:toiiieEicli. 







Marthc 

Say o/ JJon c/z£ras 




A 



£U/i¥iTuf jrda ihe^ _^4j^rirftic 



Chap. IV.] physical sections. 69 

growths of timber. Among the precious woods, the 
mahogany is most abundant. It would be a great 
mistake to suppose this coast to be of the same char- 
acter with that known as the Mosquito Shore, wliere 
the land is low, and filled with hundreds of swamf)s and 
lagoons. Tlie mountains, as I have already said, often 
come down to the sea, or rise not very far inland. The 
Mountains of Omoa shadow over the Bay of Ama- 
tique, and those of Congrehoy and Poyas are conspicu- 
ous landmarks from the ocean, which breaks almost at 
their feet. 

PHYSICAL SECTIONS. 

The topographical features which I have indicated 
will probably be best explained by the accompanying 
vertical sections, reduced from a series of barometrical 
observations : 

I. A section of Honduras, commencing at Puerto 
Caballos, on the Bay of Honduras, and extending 
thence southward, following the valleys first of the 
Rio Ulua and afterward of the Bio Humuya, through 
the plains of Espino and Comayagua, and past the di- 
viding ridge (which has its greatest elevation at the 
southern extremity of the plain last named), down the 
valley of the Bio Goascoran to the Bay of Fonseca on 
the Pacific Ocean, a distance of one hundred and fifty 
miles. This section runs through the lowest pass in 
the whole line of the Cordilleras, from the transverse 
valley of the Nicaraguan lakes to the Isthmus of Te- 
huantepec. It exhibits a longitudinal view of the 
plains of Espino and Comayagua, which may almost 
be regarded as one. Tliese are remarkable, not onl}'' as 
having their longest axis due north and south, but as 
I lying transversely to the general coiu'se of the Cordil- 



70 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV. 

leras, the altitude of which, where they are interrupted, 
is also indicated in the section. 

This section shows the profile of the proposed inter- 
oceanic railway from Puerto Caballos to the Bay of 
Fonseca, and illustrates its eminent feasibility in re- 
spect of grades. Under this aspect, as affording an 
avenue between the seas, the great transverse valley of 
Comayagua may justly be regarded as the most im- 
portant physical feature of Honduras. 

II. A section commencing at the city of Leon, in 
Nicaragua, and following the mule-road thence nearly 
due north to the town of Ocotal, the capital of the De- 
partment of Nueva Segovia,* thence nearly due north- 
west, through the departments of Tegucigalpa and Co- 
mayagua, to the town of Santa Rosa, in the Depart- 
ment of Gracias, Honduras. This section, it will be 
observed, coincides very nearly with the course of the 
Cordilleras. From Leon to the summit of the mount- 
ains near the town of San Juan de la Maya, the mule- 
path runs on the western side of the Cordilleras, thence 
to the summit of the Mountains of Chili on their east- 
ern declivity. From the point last named to the sum- 
mit of the mountains overlooking the plain of Coma- 
yagua, the waters flow to the southward ; from thence 
to the high mountains of Intibucat, to the northward. 
The next smnmit is crossed near the little town of San 
Juan (Department of Gracias), beyond which the wa- 
ters flow toward the north. In other words, this sec- 
tion intersects the Cordilleras at six points: 

1. Near San Juan de la Maya, in Nicaragua, at an 

elevation of . . . . . . 1900 feet. 

2. At the crest of the Mountains of Chili, at an ele- 

vation of 3400 " 

* The barometrical observations upon which is founded that portion of the sec- 
tion from Leon to Comayagua were made by Dr. S. W. Woodhouse, to whom I am 
indebted for the original notes. 



Chap. IV.] physical sections. 71 

3. At the crest of the Mountains of Comayagua, at 

an elevation of .... . 4900 feet. 

4. Height of Pass of Guajoca, plain of Comayagua, 2400 " 

5. Crest of Mountains of Intibucat . . . 5900 " 

6. Near village of San Juan de G-racias . . 4000 " 

The road from Santa Hosa to San Salvador crosses 
the Cordilleras at the Pass of Canguacota, at an eleva- 
tion of 4100 feet, but the mule-roads only cross the 
grand dividing ridge at its lowest passes. These have 
an average elevation of 3800 feet. Proceeding upon 
this basis and upon other observations, I think that 
the average elevation of the Cordilleras of Honduras, 
exclusive of isolated peaks, may be estimated at not 
less than 6000 feet. The plateau of Tegucigalpa has 
an average elevation of 3400 feet, that of Intibucat 
5300 feet, and that of Sta. Posa, or, rather, of the De- 
partment of Gracias in general, of 3200, and the plain 
of Comayagua of 1900 feet. The inhabited central 
portions of the state, or what may be called the grand 
plateau of Honduras, has an average elevation of 3200, 
or something less than one half that of the great pla- 
teau of Mexico. It is calculated that temperature di- 
minishes in the proportion of one degree of Fahren- 
heit for every 334 feet of elevation. The average tem- 
perature at noon at the mouth of Black Piver, on the 
northern coast of Honduras, as shown in a preceding 
table, is a little less than 70° Fahr. These elements 
of calculation would therefore give 60° of Fahr. as tliB 
average noonday temperature of the plateau of Hon- 
duras, which is equal to about 55° of mean average 
temperature. 

III. This section may be understood as coinciding 
with the meridian of 89° 10' Ion. W. from Greenwich, 
or 12° 10' W. from Washington. It commences at 
the precise point where Section II. terminates, ^. e., at 



72 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. IV, 

Santa Rosa, Department of Gracias in Honduras, and 
extends thence, nearly due south, across the State of 
San Salvador to the Pacific Ocean. It exhibits a lon- 
gitudinal j)rofile of the valley or plain of Sensenti, as 
also a transverse section of the valley of the Kiver 
Lempa, which may he understood as extending from 
the Pass of Monte Pedondo to the crest of the volcan- 
ic range which intervenes between the true Cordilleras 
and the Pacific Ocean. The features illustrated by this 
section will be more fully explained when we come to 
speak specifically of the physical conformation of San 
Salvador. 

It will of course be understood that these sections 
are only approximations in resjDect of horizontal dis- 
tances, and that the general elevations, except at ruling 
points, are also laid down approximately. Any thing 
beyond these, in a general reconnaissance of a diversi- 
fied country, is impossible. 

Topographically, therefore, Honduras has the great- 
est diversity of surface and of elevation ; broad allu- 
vions, fertile valleys, wide and elevated plains, and 
mountains terraced to their summits, collectively afford- 
ing almost every possible variety of climate, soil, and 
production. These are conditions favorable to nurtur- 
ing and sustaining a large pojDulation, and point un- 
erringly to the ultimate, if not the speedy development 
here of a rich and powerful state. A stable and lib- 
eral government, which shall make the material inter- 
ests of the country its primary care, with the opening 
of new and improved means of communication, can not 
fail to attract to Honduras an emigration from effete 
and distracted Europe relatively not inferior to that 
wliicli flows in a constant and increasing flood upon the 
shores of the United States. 



Chap. V.] rivers and lakes. 73 



CHAPTER Y. 

RIVERS, LAKES, AND LAGOONS. 

nnHE rivers of Honduras are numerous ; some of 
-*" them of large size, and deserving of a particular 
notice. The Chamelicon, Ulua, Aguan or Koman, 
Tinto or Black River, Patuca, and Wanks or Segovia, 
flowing into the North Sea, and the Choluteca, Naca- 
ome, and Goascoran, floAving into the Bay of Fonseca, 
are tlie most important. Of these, the Ulua, Aguan, 
Tinto, Patuca, Segovia, and Choluteca are naturally 
capable of navigation, to a greater or less extent, for 
vessels propelled by steam. 

River Chamelicon. — The Chamelicon is a long 
stream, but drains a comj)aratively narrow section of 
country, and consequently does not pass a very large 
body of water. It is, moreover, rapid and full of shal- 
lows. 

River Ulua. — The Ulua, on the other hand, which 
is the largest river in Honduras, di'ains a wide expanse 
of territory, comprehending nearly one third of the en- 
tire state, and probably discharges a greater amount of 
Avater into the sea than any other river of Central 
America, the Wanks or Segovia perliaps excepted. 
Its principal tributaries are the Santiago, Santa Bar- 
bara, Blanco, Humuya, and Sulaco, and below tlieir 
point of junction it is a majestic stream. It appears, 
from the reconnaissance of Lieutenant Jeffers, that it 
has a bar at its mouth, on which there is but nine feet 
of water, but which, except during the prevalence of 
high winds, may be passed by vessels drawing seven 



74 EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. Y. 

feet. Light-ch^auglit steamers can ascend as far as the 
junction with the Humuya, and in the rainy season 
pass up this stream to its union with the Sulaco. It is 
also said that similar vessels may ascend the Santiago 
to a point some distance above its junction with the 
Sta. Barbara. Wliere the Santiago is. crossed by the 
road leading from Yojoa to Omoa, it is a deep and 
wide stream, with from eight to twelve feet of water 
in its channel. The Hio Blanco is narrow, but deep, 
and could be used advantageously as a means of local 
communication. The capacity of the Lake of Yojoa 
or Taulebe, with which it communicates, is not well 
known. Accounts differ widely as to its length and 
breadth, but all concur in representing it to be of great 
depth. Don Jose de la Yalle is said to have written 
a memoir on the practicability of opening a communi- 
cation for river craft between this lake, via Rio XJlua, 
and the sea. 

Altogether, the Ulua and its tributaries offer many 
facilities for water communication with the interior, 
which can not fail to be made useful as the resources 
of the country become developed. Nor is it impossi- 
ble — on the contrary, from the volume of water which 
passes through them, it is more than ^^robable — that 
both the Ghamelicon and Santiago may be artificially 
improved so as to answer an adequate purpose in 
bringing doAvn to the coast and to a market the valu- 
able products of the naturally rich departments of Sta. 
Barbara and Gracias. But, should this anticipation 
not be verified, it is certain that the valleys of these 
rivers offer facilities for the construction of carriage or 
rail-roads whenever circumstances shall require their 
suljstitution for the present slow and expensive method 
of transportation on mules. 



Chap. V.] river aguan. 75 

In regard to the Ulua, it may be added that there 
is a cove a little to the eastward of its mouth, which 
extends to within two hundred yards of the river. 
Here vessels may enter and land with comparative 
ease and safety. In case any traffic should be opened 
by means of the Ulua, this cove might answer the pur- 
poses of a harbor, and obviate the necessity of passing 
the bar. Blunt, in his "Coast Pilot," observes, "The 
Kiver Ulua is large and deep, and in front of it is an 
anchorage on excellent holding-ground." The Ulua, 
from the junction of the Santiago or Venta, flows 
through a plain of great extent, which was called by 
the conquerors the plain of Sula. The soil on its 
banks is of extreme fertility. During the height of 
the rainy season, some portions of the country to the 
eastward of the river are overflowed, as also portions 
of the lands between it and the Chamelicon. Indeed, 
at this time the waters of the two streams frequently 
intermingle. 

River Aguan. — Kio Aguan, or Roman River, is a 
large stream, rising in the Mountains of Sulaco, and 
falling into the sea a little to the eastward of Truxillo. 
Its total length is about one hundred and twenty miles. 
Its largest tributary is the River Mangualil, celebrated 
for its auriferous sands and extensive gold-washings. 
In its course, it flows past the town of San Jorge Olan- 
chito, through the rich valley of the same name, and 
the equally rich valley of Sonaguera. The portion of 
Honduras lying around its sources and on its banks is 
unsurpassed by any portion of the world for its fertil- 
ity, its valuable woods, mineral,, and other products. 
It is reported to have a comparatively favorable bar 
(carrying from five to seven feet of water), and to be 
practicable for boats of light draught for eighty miles. 



76 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. V. 

Its capacity for purposes of transportation is a ques- 
tion of much interest, for reasons which are obvious 
from what has been said of the resources of the coun- 
try which adjoins it. 

Bio Tinto^ Negro or Black River, which, a short dis- 
tance from the sea, takes the name of Poyer, Poyas, or 
Polyer River, is a considerable stream, and is said to 
have a com'se of about one hundred and twenty miles. 
In common with most of the rivers on the coast, it has 
a bad, variable bar at its mouth, on which the water 
ranges, at different seasons, at from five to nine feet. 
Small vessels may ascend from forty to sixty miles. It 
was on this river that the English had a fort and some 
settlements during the last century, which were, how- 
ever, evacuated in 1786, in conformity with the treaty 
that year negotiated between England and Spain. Sub- 
sequent attempts were made to found permanent es- 
tablishments there, one under the auspices of ' ' the Ca- 
zique of Poyas," Sir Gregor M'Gregor, and another in 
1839-41 by an English company, under the counte- 
nance of the British settlement at Belize, but all have 
proved signal failures.* The last adventurers named 
the district "Province Victoria," and made an unim- 
portant establishment, to which they gave the name of 

* The plans of M'Gregor, although shallow in their inception and poorly com- 
bined, nevertheless dazzled the imaginations of a considerable number of unreflect- 
ing persons, and his agents were able to dispose of many shares in the imaginary 
kingdom of Poyas. In furtherance of the scheme, a work was published in Lon- 
don, in the year 1822, entitled, " Sketch of the Mosquito Shore, including the Ter- 
ritory of Poyas, etc., by Thomas Strangeioays, K.G.C., etc.," which contains some 
valuable information, chiefly drawn from miscellaneous sources, upon the character 
and products of the country. It appears that " M'Gregor, cazique of Poyas," set 
up pretensions not only to what is known as the Mosquito Shore, but to the fine 
'islands in the Bay of Honduras. A pamphlet, without date, was published in Lon- 
don, entitled, " Constitution de la Nation Poyaisienne dans VAmcnque Centrale," 
which commences, " Gregor, par la grace de Dieu, Cacique de Poyais ;" and con- 
cludes, " in the year of grace 1825, and of our reign the sixth." 



Chap. V.] black river. 77 

Fort Wellington. An account of this expedition was 
written by Thomas Young, a person connected with it 
in some official capacity, which conveys considerable in- 
formation concerning this portion of the coast. He 
describes that portion of the stream called Rio Tinto 
as flowing through a low, but rich and densely-wood- 
ed country, which, a few miles higher up, becomes 
swampy, and covered with willow-trees. At the point 
where a branch of the main stream diverges to connect 
with the Criba, or Black River Lagoon, commences the 
savanna and pine-ridge country, where some Sambos 
have a settlement. The savanna supports a few cattle, 
but the land is poor, and unfit for cultivation; "but, 
notwithstanding its aridity, it is very beautiful. It 
extends several miles in every direction, and appears 
to have been laid out by some landscape gardener. It 
is relieved by clmiips of papter-trees and low shrub- 
bery, which are the haunts of many deer. There are 
also great quantities of lofty pine-trees. Some of the 
pine-ridges on this coast are very extensive, and are 
valuable for their timber, which is the red pitch-pine, 
rich in turpentine. This timber, from its lengih and 
straightness, is not only very useful for building, but 
also for masts and spars. In the pine-ridges, many 
mounds of earth rise above the level surface to the 
height of eight or ten feet, and have broad tops large 
enough for dwelling-houses. Some parts of the savan- 
na, however, are swampy, and are the nurseries of an- 



Article IV. divides the kingdom of Poyas into twelve 


provinces, viz. : 


Island of Roatan. 


Province 


of Neu stria. 


" " Guanaja. 




" Panamaker. 


Province of Caribbania. 




" Towkas. 


" " Romaine. 




" Cackeras. 


" Tinto. 




" Wolwas. 


" " Carthage 




" Ramas 



78 REPUBLIC OF HO]ST)irRAS. [ChAP. V. 

noyino- insects."* Above this pine-ridge tlie river is 
bordered by a continuous "bush," relieved higher up 
by many gracefully-bending bamboos, and the tall cab- 
ba^-e-j^ahn, the crown of which affords food, and the 
sti'aight trunk, when split, boai^ds for native buildings. 
At a point sixteen miles above the mouth of the river, 
the English anciently had an establishment, and here 
the sarsaparilla and cacao begin to make their appear- 
ance. Near this point had been anciently a coffee plant- 
ation, at a j)lace called '• Lo^vry Hill," and near by had 
been a sugar estate, the boilers for which still remained 
at the time of Young's visit. "Thousands of banana- 
trees, loaded with fruit, were growing spontaneously." 
The ground here becomes elevated, and the Poyer, or 
Sugar-loaf Peak, two thousand feet high, shuts off the 
view seaward. Up to the ' ' Enibarcadero" the river is 
much obstructed by snags, which, even in small boats, 
it is difficult to avoid. Young adds, that "the passage 
from Fort Wellington to the Embarcad.ero, during a 
flood in the river, takes a pitpan, with six men, three 
days and a haK The descent, under similar circum- 
stances, can be made in a day and a half." The Em- 
bar cadero is estimated by Roberts (Strangeways fol- 
lowing his authority) as ninety miles from the sea, but 
this is probably an over-estimate. 

In the Poyas Piver proper the snags are not numer- 
ous, but the current is strono:. The mahoofanv, which 
has been cut off below, begins to appear. The scenery 
also changes, the banks becoming high and rocky, and 
the beds of the stream studded "uith sunken rocks. The 
river now begins to wind among what are called the 
Poyer Hills or Mountains, and little is known of its 
character beyond that it is rapid and tortuous. At 

* Young's Narrative, p. 91. 



Chap. V.] patook or patuca river. 79 

some jDoint above the Embarcadero it divides into 
two principal branches, respectively called Agalta and 
Paon. This point is represented by Sehor Herrera, 
Gefe Politico of the Department of Olancho, who went 
down the Paon and Poyas in 1840, as "thirty-five 
leagues from the valley of Olancho, the path lying 
through steep and broken mountains, and crossing the 
Paon not less than seventy-three times — a river," he 
adds, "of much water, and very stony." He reported 
emphatically against any attempt to open communica- 
tion between the settled districts of Olancho and the 
sea by way of the Poyas Piver and its branches. 

The Poyas Indians have a number of settlements 
among the hills of the same name, on the upper tribu- 
taries of this river. Young reports the land about the 
Poyer Hills as exceedingly fertile, and the country 
healthy. 

Black Biver Lagoon^ called Criba by the Spaniards, 
according to Roberts, who visited it, is about fifteen 
miles long by seven wide. It contains several small 
islands, which were cultivated during the English occu- 
pation of Black Piver. At this j^eriod they erected 
considerable works of defense, which Avere enlarged by 
the SjDaniards after the English evacuation, the ruins 
of which are still conspicuous. On the borders of the 
lagoon are some extensive savannas and pine-ridges, 
fi:om which the former settlers obtained considerable 
quantities of pitch, tar, and turpentine. 

The Patook River (written Patuca by the Spaniards) 
enters the sea by a principal mouth about midway be- 
tween Cartine (also called by the Spaniards Brus, and 
by the English Brewer's) and Cartago, or Carataska 
Lagoons. It appears to be the largest river on the 
entire northern coast of Honduras, between the Ulua 



80 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. V. 

and Herbias, or Cape Gracias a Dios Bivers. It takes 
its rise in the very heart of the Department of Olancho, 
in the vicinity of the large Spanish town of Juticalpa 
(capital of the department), and the great Indian town 
of Catacamas. The principal streams which unite to 
form the Patuca are the rivers Jalan, Tinto de Olan- 
cho, and the Guy ape (or Guallape) and Guallambre. 
The two last named are celebrated for their extensive 
gold washings, to which reference is elsewhere made. 
The geograj^hical basin in which this river collects its 
waters is one of the richest and most beautiful in all 
Central America. It is separated fronx the transverse 
valley of the E,io Herbias or Segovia by a high, nar- 
row chain of mountains, steep on the south, but sub- 
siding by terraces toward the north. Seiior Herrera, 
in his report already alluded to, states that the Patuca 
is navigable for canoes as high as the junction of the 
Jalan with the Guyape. The river, however, above 
the coast alluvions has a powerful current, and is inter- 
rupted by rapids called "chiflones." At the mouth 
of the Guallambre is what is called Puerto de Delon ; 
below this point are numerous "chiflones," the prin- 
cipal of which are those of Campanera and Caoba. At 
one point the river is compressed between high, pre- 
cipitous walls of rock for a long distance. The place 
is called ^'■Portal del Infierno^'''' or Hell's Mouth, and 
probably gave rise to the story recorded by Koberts, 
"that at one part of its course the river has forced 
its way through a range of hills, one of which is com- 
pletely excavated by the stream, which thus passes 
through a natural arch, as through a cavern, for a dis- 
tance of nearly five hundred yards."* The j^i'incipal 
affluents below the Guallambre are the following, in 

* Roberts's Narrative, p. 159. 



Chap. V,] patook or patuca river. 81 

the Poyas dialect, viz., Rio Guineo, Ptio Cuyamel, Rio 
Amac-was (River of Bee-hives), Rio Was-pres-senia 
(Roaring Water), Rio Uampu, and Rio Upurra (River 
of Retreat). 

The principal mouth of the Patuca opens directly 
into the sea, and is obstructed by a bad, shifting bar, 
on which there is generally from eight to ten feet of* 
water. Sometimes, after heavj^ gales, it is deeper. The 
tide, wliich is slight, nevertheless ebbs and flows in the 
river for some miles. The land about the mouth of 
the river is mostly savanna, which, however, according 
to an account given in 1844 by Messrs. Haly, Uj^ton, 
and Deacon, unlike most of the savannas on the coast, 
is not swampy, and furthermore has a black and fer- 
tile soil. An extensive pine-ridge is found about thirty 
miles up the river, above which, as also down to near 
the sea, the banks are thickly wooded, having a great 
variety of soil — red clay, loam, and black mould — all 
admirably adaj^ted to the cultivation of sugar, coffee, cot- 
ton, cacao, indigo, etc. Large quantities of mahogany, 
cedar, rose, and Santa Maria wood are found through- 

o 

out the whole length of the river valley, while the pine- 
ridges are capable of fiu-nishing inexhaustible quanti- 
ties of pine wood and oak. Exclusive of valuable 
woods, the forests produce abundance of sarsaparilla, 
India rubber, gum copal, and vanilla. Mr. Haly pro- 
nounces the Patuca "navigable for small steamers" to 
tlie vicinity of the Spanish settlements in Olancho, " or 
at least to the foot of the falls" (Portal del Infierno\ 
and that "it is the best river on the enthe coast, ex- 
cepting that of San Juan de Nicaragua, for commercial 
intercourse with the interior. " He thinks, also, that an 
establishment at its mouth, supported by improve- 
ments in the river and by roads in the interior, would 

E 



82 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [_ChAP. V. 

soon become the most important point on the coast 
east of Omoa. According to Haly, it takes seventee7i 
days to ascend the river to the Spanish settlements in 
Olancho, which implies that the current must be very 
strong and navigation far from easy. He estimates a 
day's voyage up the stream at thirty miles, and adds 
that "the Spanish towns are therefore five hundred 
and ten miles above the mouth of the river." This 
estimate is simply absurd, as that distance in the direc- 
tion of the course of the river would carry the traveler 
not only across the continent, but far out of sight of 
land in the Pacific Ocean! As I have already ob- 
served, distances in Central America are always over- 
estimated, or, to use a saying of the country, "depend 
upon the quality of your horse." In other words, 
what is five leagues with a good animal is ten with a 
bad one. Roberts, more moderate, estimates the 
length of the Patuca at one hundred and fifty miles, 
and Strangeways at one hundred miles. Various 
establishments of Caribs and Sambos exist on the low- 
er part of the river, and the Toacas and Poyas (called 
Payas by the Spaniards) on its upper waters and its 
various tributaries. 

An arm of the Patuca, called Toomtoom Creek, di- 
versins: from the main stream a short distance above 
its mouth, connects it with Brus, or Brewer's Lagoon. 
This lagoon has a wide mouth, but will not admit vessels 
draAvins: more than six or seven feet. Three or four 
miles from its entrance is an island of moderate height, 
about two miles in circumference, fertile, formerly forti- 
fied by the English, and seems to have been extensively 
cultivated. This lagoon abounds with fine fish, has 
plenty of water-fowl, and large beds of oysters. "The 
country to the northward, " says Roberts, ' ' is beautifully 



Chap. V.] caeataska lagoon. 83 

diversified by gently-rising hills, valleys, and savannas, 
and tlie soil, generally speaking, is excellent." 

Caratasha or Cartago Lagoon "is of very consider- 
able extent, varying in breadth, and having, in some 
places, the appearance of several lagoons running into 
each other, in various directions, for the most part par- 
allel to the coast, but nowhere exceeding twelve miles 
in breadth." It has two entrances, one a small creek 
called "Tibacunta." The principal mouth is wide, with 
thirteen to fourteen feet of water on the bar. The la- 
goon is estimated at about thirty-six miles in length. 
It is for the most part shallow, varying in depth from 
six to twelve and eighteen feet. Captain Henderson, 
who visited it in 1804, describes the country near the 
Sambo village of Crata (Croatch or Cartago) as "a 
spacious savanna, of very considerable extent, forming 
an entire level of unbroken verdure and finest pastur- 
age, skirted on one side by the waters of the lagoon, 
and on the other bounded by gently-rising hills. The 
clumps of pine and other lofty trees, interspersed at 
pleasing distances over the whole, gave the view all the 
appearance of cultivated art, and aiForded a most agTee- 
able relief to the eye." Several small streams discharge 
into the lagoon from the south, viz., Ibentara, Carta- 
go, Locca, Warunta, and Kaukari. It has also three 
considerable islands. There are a number of villages 
of Sambos around this lagoon, who raise a few cattle, 
but do not cultivate the soil to any extent, being gross- 
ly indolent and improvident. " The land in the vicin- 
ity of the lagoon," according to Roberts, "consists al- 
most entirely of extensive and beautiful savannas, cov- 
ered with the finest pasturage, and abounding in deer 
and other game. There are few j)ine-trees at Crata, 
but on the opposite or south side there are ridges grow- 



84 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. V. 

ing timber as large as any on the coast. Behind these 
ridges the savannas are bounded by hills, whose sum- 
mits are covered by the most luxuriant vegetation. On 
the banks of the streams in the interior there is ex- 
cellent mahogany, and cedar of the finest quality and 
largest size. Pimento and various other valuable plants 
are also indigenous." 

Bio Wanks or Segovia (also called Herbias, Yare, 
Cape, Coco, and Oro), which enters the sea at Cape 
Gracias a Dias, is certainly the longest, if not in other 
respects the largest, river in Central America. It rises 
in the Department of Nueva Segovia, in the extreme 
northwest corner of Nicaragua, within fifty miles of the 
Bay of Fonseca, and flows northeast into the Caribbean 
Sea. For the greater part of its course it is the bound- 
ary between Honduras and Nicaragua. Its total length 
can not be less than three hundred and fifty miles. 
For two hundred and fifty miles above its mouth it 
flows through an almost unbroken wilderness, among 
high mountains, and for a great part of its way in a 
rapid current over a very broken and rocky bed. It 
is nevertheless occasionally navigated by canoes to 
within a few leagues of the town of Ocotal (or Nueva 
Segovia). Sehor Don Francisco Irias, of the town of 
Ocotal, descended it in 1842 in a canoe, and returned 
by the same means. He started from a place called 
Coco, which, from his account, appears to be not far 
from Ocotal. From that point to another called Pailla, 
he represents the river as not much obstructed. "Just 
above Pailla there falls into the principal river a large 
and beautiful stream, called Bocay, the mouth of which 
is near that of the large river Pantasma, which enters 
from the right. There are other medium-sized tribu- 
taries, among which is the Poteca, rising on the left 



Chap. V.] river wanks or segovia. 85 

base of the mountains bounding the great valley of 
Jalapa, at a point called Macarali. The Poteca is too 
rough for navigation. There is also another stream, 
called Coa, which flows from the south, among high 
and steep mountains. It abounds in fish, and the for- 
est which borders it is rich in honey, and also in val- 
uable woods." 

Below Pailla commence a series of rapids or falls, 
which follow each other in quick succession, some of 
which can only be passed by unloading the canoes and 
carrying them over land. "These are the sole ob- 
structions," continues Seiior Irias, "to the navigation 
of the river from the point of embarkation to the sea 
at Cape Gracias a Dios. At jDresent, the descent oc- 
cupies about ten days. Two days are taken up in 
descending the rapids, and four in ascending them. 
It will be observed that only about one fifth of the 
river is in any way obstructed. The delay in the 
voyage is chiefl}?' occasioned by unloading and load- 
ing at some of the rapids. From Tilras and Quipis- 
pe, the final rapids, to the Cape, there is scarcely any 
current, and it is necessary to use the oars. This part 
of the country through which the river passes is very 
beautiful, consisting of open plains covered with grass 
and scattered trees. It is well adapted for grazing, 
and cattle and horses might be raised here for ex- 
portation to Cuba and Jamaica. '*' * In ascending 
the river from the Cape, I was occupied twenty days. 
* * Cape Gracias a Dios unfortunately has no com- 
merce, but it has a favorable and pictiu'esque situation. 
It has in front a salt lagoon of great capacity, sepa- 
rated from the sea by a sandy strip of land covered with 
mangrove-trees. The entrance is to the south. * * 
It is lamentable that so beautiful a section as that 



86 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. Y. 

around the Cape should have no other population ex- 
cept a few worthless Moscos (Mosquitos or Sambos), 
unable from want of instruction, as unfitted by dispo- 
sition, to attain to any improvement in the future." 

In 1688, a body of French and English pirates, about 
three hundred in number, abandoned their vessels in 
the Gulf of Fonseca, forced their way across the con- 
tinent, through Nueva Segovia, and down this river to 
Cape Gracias. They descended the stream on small 
rafts, which they called '''■pipiries, pitiful machines," 
each supporting two or three men. Many were drown- 
ed in the descent, of which De Lussan, one of the lead- 
ers, has left us an animated, though perhaps some- 
what exaggerated description. He says : "This river 
springs in the Mountains of Segovia, and discharges 
itself into the North Sea at Cape Gracias a Dios, after 
having run a very long way in a most rapid manner 
ovee a vast number of Rocks of prodigious bigness, 
and by the most frightful Precipices that can be 
thought of, besides a great many Falls of Water to the 
Number of at least an Hundred of all sorts, which it's 
impossible for a Man to look on without trembling, 
and making the Head of the most fearless to turn 
round, when he sees and hears the Water fall from, 
such an height into these tremendous Whirlpools. In 
short, the whole is so formidable that there are none 
but those who have some Experience can have right 
conceptions of it. But for me, who have passed these 
Places, and who, as long as I live, shall have my mind 
filled with these Hisques I have run, it's impossible I 
should give such an Idea hereof but what will come 
far short of what I have really known of them."* 

* A Journal of a Voyage made into the South Sea by the Bucaniers or Freeboot- 
ers of America, hj the Sieur Raveneau de Lussan, London, 1704, p. 17L 



Chap. V.] river wanks or segovia. 87 

De Lussan speaks of the large quantities of banan- 
as which they found on the banks of the river, "which 
kept them from starving," for, although there was 
"very good game," their "powder was wet, so that 
they could not go a Hunting. " He describes the lower 
part of the river as "very good, and the stream very 
gentle." 

Eoberts, who spent some months at Cape Gracias, 
describes "the soil in that neighborhood as very poor, 
and, with the exception of a few spots, on which there 
are small patches of cassava, incapable of producing any 
thing better than a coarse, rank gi^ass, fit, however, for 
pasturage." The few people who live there depend 
upon those who dwell a considerable way up the river 
for their supply of plantains, maize, and other provi- 
sions. Game is scarce, and there is a deficiency of good 
water, so that the Cape presents no advantages for an 
agricultural settlement, although holding out induce- 
ments for grazing establishments and commerce. 

The river enters the ocean some distance to the north- 
ward of the bay or harbor, with which, however, it is 
connected by a creek or shallow canal, passable for ca- 
noes, and which might be deepened so as to enable 
small vessels to avoid the dangerous bar of the river 
itself, on which there is seldom more than four or five 
feet of water. "For forty or fifty miles above its 
mouth," continues Roberts, "the land is low, sandy, 
and poor, with occasional ridges of pitch 23ine, and some 
patches of good mould." There is little doubt that the 
Rio Segovia might be made to answer a useful purpose 
in the development of the country. 

Three rivers of note flow from the interior of Hon- 
duras southward into the Pacific. These are the Goas- 
coran, Nacaome, and Choluteca. The last named is 



88 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. V. 

much the largest. It rises in the Lepaterique Mount- 
ains, at the head of the plain of Comayagua, flows east- 
ward until it reaches the meridian of Tegucigalpa, then 
turns abruptly north, flowing past that city, and after 
describing a cuxuitous course, runs nearly south into 
the Gulf of Fonseca, having a total length of about one 
hundred and fifty miles. Its course illustrates what I 
have already said of the peculiarities of the mountain 
gi'oups of Honduras. The Lepaterique Mountains be- 
come knotted and much broken up in the great bend 
of this river, which embraces one of the richest mineral 
districts of Central America. The mines of Yuscuran, 
San Antonio Mineral, Sta. Lucia, San Juan Cantara- 
nas, etc., all lie within this bend. The valley of the 
Choluteca is narrow until it reaches the point where it 
takes a southern direction, whence it gradually expands 
into broad alluvions on the gulf. In the midst of these 
alluvions is situated the town of Choluteca (anciently 
Xeres de la Frontera), a place of considerable size. 
The Yuguare is a tributary of the Choluteca. It floAvs 
through a broad valley, distinguished, even in Hondu- 
ras, for its beauty and fertility. "Bongos," and other 
native boats of light draught, ascend the Choluteca to 
considerable distances. Indeed, the river, for ten or 
twelve miles from the gulf, can only be regarded as an 
estuary. Its banks, throughout the lower part of its 
course, are well wooded with cedar, mahogany, and oth- 
er trees, the value of which is much enhanced by the 
facility with which they may be reached from the sea. 
The river will be of great utility in working the numer- 
ous rich silver mines which are found in the vicinity 
of Corpus, and in the hills which skirt its valley. 

The Rio Nacaome collects its waters on the south 
side of the Lepaterique Mountains, while the Choluteca 



Chap. V.] river goascoran. 89 

drains their northern slope. It is not a long stream, 
but passes a considerable body of water. It is very 
rapid, and is not available for purposes of navigation 
except during the rainy season, when it may be ascend- 
ed by canoes as high as the town of Nacaome. Below 
that place it flows through alluvions ; and above, to 
the town of Pespiri, it has a broad valley. Beyond 
that point it finds its way in deep gorges among the 
hills and mountains. Its principal tributary is the 
Moramulca. 

The River Goascoran rises among the low hills 
which lie at the head of the great plain of Comayagua, 
and its valley may almost be regarded as a prolonga- 
tion of this plain. It has its sources in the same sa- 
vannas with those of the Humuya, which flows north- 
ward into the Bay of Honduras. Its com*se is nearly 
due south, and, in conjunction with the River Humuya, 
it opens a great transverse valley, completely cutting 
through the Cordilleras, and extending from sea to sea. 
From this circumstance it derives its principal impor- 
tance. Its valley consists of a succession of terraces, 
of greater or less width, with no alluvions proper until 
within ten miles of the Gulf of Fonseca, where the 
ground spreads out in a broad, low, and fertile plain. 
At Caridad, where the river breaks through the Lepor 
terique Mountains, the valley is much compressed, but 
this is only for a few hundred yards. The first town 
on the river is Goascoran, above which occur Arama- 
cina, Saco, Caridad, San Antonio del Norte, Aguanque- 
terique, and San Juan. The entire length of the Go- 
ascoran is between seventy and eighty miles. During 
the rainy season it passes a large body of water, but 
during the dry season it can every where be forded 
without difficulty. It could doubtless be made naviga- 



90 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. V. 

ble as far as the town of Goascoran by artificial aids, but 
naturally it can not be regarded as a navigable river. 
From the Gulf upward to the Rio Pescado, which en- 
ters it from the west, a few miles below Caridad, it 
constitutes the boundary between the states of San 
Salvador, and Honduras. The principal importance 
of this stream, as already intimated, consists in its de- 
pendence on the jDlain of Comayagua, whereby a favor- 
able railway route is opened between the two seas. 

Lake of Yojoa. — The Lake of Yojoa or Taulebe is 
the only lake of note in Honduras. Its extent is un- 
known, nor can any definite information respecting it 
be obtained from the people of the country. It is 
probably about twenty-five miles in length by from 
three to eight broad, and closely shut in by mountains. 
The River Blanco, a narrow but deep stream, flows 
from its northern extremity, and unites with the Ulua 
at the same point with the Humuya. This outlet, I 
am informed by Mr. FoUin, United States consul in 
Omoa, loses itself in a subterranean passage a few miles 
from its point of debouchure, through which it flows 
for a number of miles. Another singular circum- 
stance is affirmed of this lake, and accepted by Mr. 
Baily in his Map of Central America, viz., that, be- 
sides the Rio Blanco, it has three other distinct outlets, 
one flowing northwest into the Rio Sta. Barbara, and 
two southeast into the Humuya. However common 
such peculiarities may have been in the earlier eras of 
map-making, modern investigation fails to discover 
them, and we may safely believe that the Lake of Yo- 
joa has but a single outlet until the existence of the 
others is better authenticated. An investigation of 
this interesting lake is certainly a geographical desid- 
eratum, and could not fail to be interesting. It seems 



Chap. V.] lake of to jo a. 91 

to occupy one of those numerous interior basins, of 
which I have had several occasions to speak as peculiar 
features in the physical conformation of Honduras, in 
which the mountain ridges appear to have turned back 
on themselves in knotted groups, instead of pursuing 
the rectilinear course observable in most mountain 
ranges. Around the head of the lake the country 
seems to be comparatively plain. Here are found sev- 
eral towns, while its lateral shores are uninhabited. I 
infer from this that its sides are lined by steep and 
rugged mountains, affording little arable ground, and 
no favorable positions for villages. It would seem as 
if these questions might be answered by the people of 
the country, but the lake is entirely out of the line of 
ordinary travel, and the greatest ignorance prevails in 
respect to it. 

\ 



92 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 



CHAPTEE YI. 

BATS, PORTS, AND HARBORS. 

npHE Bay of Fonseca, sometimes called Golfo de 
-^ Amapala^ or Conchagua, is beyond dispute one of 
the finest ports, or, rather, " constellation of ports," on 
the entire Pacific coast of this continent. It is upward 
of fifty miles in greatest length, by about thirty miles in 
average width. A reference to the accompanying chart, 
reduced from a survey made by Captain Sir Edward 
Belcher, R. N., in 1838, will explain its peculiarities 
better than any description. It will be seen from the 
general map that this bay lies within the great longi- 
tudinal valley which intervenes between the volcanic 
coast-ridge and the true Cordilleras, and which extends 
from Guatemala to Costa Rica. In San Salvador this 
valley is drained by the River Lempa, which breaks 
abruptly through the coast-ridge and flows into the Pa- 
cific. In Nicaragua the same valley is represented by 
the basin of the Nicaragua lakes, drained by the River 
San Juan, which breaks as abruptly through the Cor- 
dilleras and flows into the Atlantic. Intermediately 
between San Salvador and Nicaragua, it is farther 
represented by the Bay of Fonseca, where the sea has 
broken through the volcanic coast-range, and spread it- 
self out behind it. The bay, no doubt, owes its origin 
to volcanic causes, and its study, under this aspect, 
must hereafter prove of the highest interest to science. 
The entrance to the bay, from the sea, is about eighth 




is 




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BAY OF PONSl'jrA 

StuTfYPfl bvCapl SirEDWARDBRLCllE?? ( B l^'^^'''^ 
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Scale of Sea^Miles 



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Chap. VI.] bat of fonseca. 93 

een miles wide, between tlie great volcanoes of Concha- 
gua (3800 feet in height) and Coseguina (3000 feet in 
height), which stand like giant warders upon either 
hand, and constitute unmistakable landmarks for the 
mariner. On a line across this entrance, and about 
equidistant from each other, lie the two considerable 
islands of Conchaguita and Mianguera, and a collection 
of high rocks called "los Farellones," which, while they 
serve to protect the bay from the swell of the sea, di- 
vide the entrance into four distinct channels, each of 
sufficient depth of water to admit the passage of the 
largest vessels. These islands are high ; Conchaguita 
being not less than 1500, and Mianguera about 1200 
feet in height. They were formerly inhabited by In- 
dians, who withdrew to the main land to avoid the 
oppressions of the freebooters during the period of their 
ascendency in the South Sea. Both of these islands 
belong to San Salva'dor. 

The three states of San Salvador, Honduras, and 
Nicaragua touch upon this bay. Honduras has, how- 
ever, much the largest frontage. The port of La Union, 
on the subordinate bay of the same name, is the prin- 
cipal Pacific port of San Salvador. Nicaragua has 
also a nominal port on the "Estero Real," an estuary 
of the bay, which penetrates that state in the direction 
of the Lake of Managua. Hondm^as has the free port 
of Amapala on the island of TigTC, which occupies a 
commanding position nearly in the centre of the bay. 

The subordinate bay of La Union, from the island 
of Punta Sacate to its head, is about eight miles in 
length by four in breadth. Its northern half, however, 
is shallow, and almost dry at low water, and it is said 
that the anchorage is yearly becoming narrower from 
the sand washed down by the rivers Goascoran and Si- 



94 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

rama, both of which flow into it. There are also two 
other subordinate bays, viz., that of Chismuyo, to the 
northward of the large island of Sacate Grande, and 
which receives the Rio Nacaome, and that of San Lo- 
renzo, a fine body of water to the eastward of the same 
island. At the head of this bay is situated the nom- 
inal 23ort of San Lorenzo, which is only a dependency 
of that of Amaj)ala. The principal estuary of the bay 
is that called "El Estero Real," which extends into 
Nicaragua behind the volcano pf El Yiejo. It starts 
from the extreme southern point of the bay, and pene- 
trates inland for a distance, including its windings, of 
not far from fifty miles. It has an average width of 
two hundred yards, and, for at least thirty miles from 
its mouth, a depth of not less than three fathoms. Sir 
Edward Belcher went up this estero in 1838, in the 
" Starling," a vessel drawing ten feet of water, for thir- 
ty miles. In his own language, he "might easily have 
gone farther, had the wind permitted." This estero 
extends to within twenty or twenty-five miles of Lake 
Managua, from which it is separated by the plain of 
Conejo.* 

The principal islands in the Bay of Fonseca are Sa- 
cate Grande, Tigre, Gueguensi, and Esposescion, be- 
longing to Honduras, and Punta Sacate, Martin Perez, 
Conchaguita, and Mianguera (already described), be- 
longing to San Salvador. 

Sacate Grande is considerably the largest, and, in 
common with the others, is of volcanic origin. It is 
seven miles long by about four in breadth. The south- 
ern half is elevated, rising in a number of peaks to the 

* I have elsewhere indicated this line as the most feasible route for a ship canal, 
via the River San Juan and Lakes Nicaragua and Managua. See Part IIL of 
'' Nicaragua, its People, Scenery, Monuments, and proposed Inter-oceanic Canal.'' 



Chap. YL] bay of fonseca. 95 

height of two thousand feet. These elevations slope oiF 
gently to the northward, and subside finally in level al- 
luvial grounds of exceeding fertility. These, as well as 
the slopes descending toward them, are densely wooded 
with cedar, mahogany, willowisti, and other valuable 
trees. The peaks themselves, as well as their more ab- 
rupt southern sIojdcs, are covered Avith grass, called by 
the Indians sacate, whence the island derives its name. 
These grassy slopes afford pasturage for great numbers 
of cattle, and it is said that as many as four thousand 
have been pastured upon the island at a single time. 
For most of the year, and except in very dry seasons, 
there are running streams of water on the northern 
slopes of the island. Abundance of water, however, 
may be obtained by digging through the upper lava 
crusts, beneath which, as is frequently the case in vol- 
canic countries, flow constant streams. The grassy 
peaks of Sacate Grande, as well as of the other islands, 
afford a source of ever-varying and eternal beauty. 
With the commencement of the rainy season, they are 
clothed with the delicate translucent green of the spring- 
ing grass, which deepens as the season advances both 
in color and thickness, until all the asperities of the 
ground are matted over with an emerald robe of luxu- 
riance. Then, when the rains cease and the droughts 
commence, the grass becomes sere, and finally of a brill- 
iant yellow, and the islands appear as if swathed in a 
mantle of golden grain, which Ceres herself might envy. 
Then comes the torch of the vaqiiero, and the sky is 
lurid Avlth the blaze of the rajDid flame, which clears 
the ground for the future fresh and tender blade, but 
leaves it browned and pur2:)led, in sober contrast with 
its previous gayer garniture of gold and green. 

The island of Gueguensi may be regarded as a de- 



96 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP.VI. 

pendency of Sacate Grande, from which it is separated 
only by a narrow and shallow strait. It has a single 
eminence of great beauty and regularity. The rest of 
the island is level, chiefly savanna, fertile, and well 
adapted to the cultivation of rice, cotton, and sugar. 
It is fringed by a narrow belt of mangroves, which 
would lead the careless observer to suppose the ground 
within to be low and swampy. 

The island of Tigre, from its position, is the most 
important island of the bay. It is perhaps twenty 
miles in circumference, rising in the form of a perfect 
cone to the height of two thousand five hundred feet. 
The slope from the water, for some distance inward, is 
very gentle, and admits of cultivation. Upon the 
southern and eastern shores, the lava forms black, rocky 
barriers to the waves, varying in height from ten to 
eighty feet; but upon the northward and eastward 
there are a number of "playas" or coves, with smooth, 
sandy beaches. It is facing one of the most consider- 
able of these that the port of Amapala is situated. 
The water in front is deep, with clear anchorage, where 
vessels of ordinary size may lie within a cable's length 
of the shore. 

This island was a favorite resort of the pirates, and 
it was here that Drake had his depot during his opera- 
tions in the South Sea. At that time, in common with 
Sacate Grande, and the other principal islands in the 
bay, it had several considerable towns of Indians, 
who, however, soon afterward retired to the main land 
to avoid their piratical persecutors. From that time 
it remained almost entirely uninhabited until about 
1838, when some enterprising merchants, under the sug- 
gestions of Don Carlos Dardano, a Sardinian trader, 
conceived the idea of making it a free port. They ac- 



Tb 



Is separated 

.Q'aio. it 13 as a singlfi 

■u. :^; .. i.a regularity. The rest of 

chF^fiy sfvanna, fertile, and' ^f^'^Il 

cotton, aiwi 
^.M'i'ow ioeii ;:'igroves, wliicLi 



iosr 



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o 



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Chap. YI.] bay of fonseca, 97 

cordingly obtained the requisite action from the gov- 
ernment of Hondm'as, and the free port of Amapala 
was accordingly established. Since then it has raj)id- 
ly increased in population, and is now by far the most 
important point in the Gulf, and undoubtedly destined 
to become the most important port in the Pacific be- 
tween San Francisco and Valparaiso. It has a salubri- 
ous climate, resulting from its admirable ventilation, 
the proximity of high grounds, and absence of swamps. 
The markets of three states are accessible from it, and 
it may be reached from the sea much more easily than 
any other point in the bay, while the largest vessels of 
the line may lie in perfect security in its waters. The 
actual j^opulation may be estimated at about one thou- 
sand. It contains scA'eral large wholesale mercantile 
establishments, with the requisite warehouses, and a 
number of substantial and commodious dwellings. A 
direct trade is carried on between Amapala and Brem- 
en, Liverpool, Marseilles, Genoa, New York, and Val- 
paraiso. No data exist for determining its extent or 
value. The exports are indigo, hides, tobacco, bullion, 
silver and copper ores, and Brazil-wood, together with 
maize to ports on the coast. The cultivation of sugar 
has been introduced on the main land, with a view of 
supplying the Californian market. 

Lying in front of the port of Amapala, to the north- 
west of the island of Tigre, is the island of Esposes- 
cion. It is high, with a large "playa" on its southern 
side, but is deficient in water. This, however, might 
be sujDplied to every necessary extent by Avells of the 
requisite capacity. The same remarks hold good in 
respect to the considerable island of Punta Sacate. 
The little island of Martin Perez is comparatively low 
and level, and has a rich, productive soil. It retains 

G 



98 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

its verdure during most of the year, and is green when 
the other islands are sere and yellow from the drought. 
The remaining islands, of which there are many, may 
be described as volcanic domes, supporting only enough 
soil to nourish the grasses which disguise the rough 
and blistered rocks of which they are composed. 

The bay abounds in fish, and its shores swarm with 
every variety of water-fowl — cranes, herons, pelicans, 
ibises, spoonbills, ducks, curlews, darters, etc., etc. 
Large beds of oysters are found in the shallow waters 
in the dependent bays of La Union and Chismuyo. 
Their quantity seems to be inexhaustible. Huge piles 
of their shells are scattered along the shores of the 
islands and main land, showing how extensively they 
were used by the aborigines. They are about the size 
of the ordinary oysters found around New York, and 
of excellent flavor. Crabs and cray-fish are also abund- 
ant. 

The whole region around this bay is eminently pro- 
ductive, and capable of furnishing suj)plies of every 
kind to every desirable extent. The lands on the 
banks of the Choluteca, Nacaome, and Goascoran are 
of the highest fertility, and adapted to the production 
of every tropical commodity. The savannas back of 
these comparatively low grounds are peculiarly fitted 
for grazing, while wheat, potatoes, and other products 
of the temperate zone may be cultivated on the slopes 
of the mountains and the plateaus of the interior. 
Wood of value for purposes of export or for the con- 
struction of dwellings and ships, including pine, exists 
in exhaustless quantities on the very shores of the bay, 
or may be rafted down the rivers from the interior. 
These rivers also aiford facilities for navigation by 
small boats for considerable distances inland, to points 



Chap. VI.] bay of fonseca. 99 

near the metal-bearing spurs or outliers of the Cordil- 
leras. The silver and gold mining district of Tabanco, 
in the Department of San Miguel (San Salvador), the 
silver mines of Aramacina and San Martjm, and the 
famous mine of Corpus, all lie within from ten to 
twenty miles of this bay. Limestone is found in large 
beds on the navigable waters of the estero of Cubu- 
lero, and a fine rose-colored sandstone abounds in the 
vicinity of the town of Nacaome, on the banks of the 
river of the same name. This bay must also ultimately 
become the depot of the coal from the great beds which 
exist in the valley of the River Lempa, when these 
shall come to be worked for supj)lying the Pacific 
steamers. It is alleged that coal is to be found both 
on the Rio Sirama and Choluteca, but the reports re- 
main to be verified. 

As afibrding admirable ports, abundant means for 
ship-building and repairs, with supplies of every kind, 
not less than for its value in respect to existing and lo- 
cal commerce with San Salvador, Honduras, and Nic- 
aragua, the Bay of Fonseca has a singular value and 
commercial importance. But our estimate of that im- 
portance becomes greatly enhanced when we consider its 
commanding position, both in a political and geograph- 
ical point of view, and especially ^vdien we regard it, 
as it is inevitably destined to become, as the terminus 
on the Pacific of the most available route of permanent 
railway communication between the two great oceans. 
I have no hesitation in repeating now, what I had oc- 
casion to say to the government of the United States 
when acting as its representative in Central America, 
that "the Bay of Fonseca is, under every point of view, 
by far the most important position on the Pacific coast 
of America, and so favored by Nature as ultimately to 



100 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

become the great emporium of trade, and centre of en- 
terprise upon that side of the continent." This was 
■written before the fact of a feasible interoceanic rail- 
way route through Honduras, terminating on this bay, 
had been demonstrated or even conceived. 

The principal ports of Honduras, on the Atlantic, 
are Omoa, Puerto Caballos, and Truxillo ; and on the 
Pacific, Amaj)ala, or the island of Tigre. 

Puerto Caballos. — The first port established by tbe 
Spaniards on the northern coast was Puerto Caballos, 
lat. 15° W N., and Ion. 87° 57' W. It was selected 
by Cortez in his expedition into Honduras, and he 
founded a settlement there, with the purpose of making 
it the grand entrejJOt of New Spain, which he called 
Natividad. For more than two centuries it was the 
principal establishment on the coast, but it was re- 
moved to Omoa, a few miles to the westward, during 
the time of the buccaneers, because of the large size of 
the bay, which could only be adequately defended by 
the construction of several forts, while a single work 
was sufficient for the protection of the comparatively 
small port of Omoa. 

The port, or rather bay, is of large capacity, being 
not less than nine miles in circumference. Its depth 
is ample, ranging, for more than two thirds of its area, 
from four to twelve fathoms, with secure holding- 
ground. Toward its northern shore the depth of water 
is greatest ; and by the construction of docks sixty feet 
in length, the largest ocean steamers may enter, and re- 
ceive and land passengers and cargo, more easily than 
in the docks of New York, inasmuch as, in this portion 
of the Bay of Honduras, the rise and fall of the tide is 
almost imperceptible. 

Connected with the port or bay is a large salt-water 



Chap. VI.] Puerto caballos — omoa. 101 

lagoon, upward of two miles in length, by about a mile 
and a quarter broad, of equal depth of water mth the 
port- itself. 

The winds which prevail on the north coast of Hon- 
duras are from the northeast, north, and north by west, 
from all of which the port is perfectly protected. West 
and southwest winds are scarcely known, and are fur- 
thermore entirely cut off from the port by the high hills 
and mountains skirting the coast in that direction. 

Omoa. — The port of Omoa is in lat. 15° 47' N., long. 
88° 3^ W. It is small but secure, and defended by a 
strong work, called "El Castillo de San Fernando." 
The anchorage is good, in from two to six fathoms. 
The to^\Ti is situated about a fourth of a mile back from 
the shore, and numbers fifteen hundred or two thousand 
inhabitants. The site of the town is level, but the coun- 
try back rises rapidly into a chain of high mountains, 
which, commencing abruptly at Puerto Caballos, trend 
off to the westward, and connect with the Sierra Madre 
in the Department of Gracias. Very little agriculture, 
therefore, is carried on in the vicinity of Omoa, which 
draws its supplies chiefly from the Indians settled 
around Puerto Caballos, and from the vicinity of Che- 
loma and San Pedro, in the j^lain of Sula. It is through 
Omoa that the merchants of Gracias, Sta. Barbara, Co- 
mayagua, and Tegucigalpa obtain their j^rincipal sup- 
plies of merchandise, and most of them have agencies 
at the port. Goods landed here, nevertheless, some- 
times find their way across the continent into San Sal- 
vador and Guatemala. It is from this port, also, that 
most of the exports of the departments which I have 
indicated are made. They consist of bullion, mahog- 
any, hides, tobacco, indigo, sarsaj^arilla, etc. ; but the 
amounts of these articles which pass here, in the ab- 



102 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

sence of published data, are unknown. A large num- 
ber of cattle are shipped annually to supply the mar- 
kets and the mahogany establishments around Belize 
with provisions and with oxen for trucking the mahog- 

any.* 

Omoa, from its position, receives the full ventilation 
afforded by the trade winds, and its climate in general 
is cool and salubrious. It has seldom been visited by 
those epidemics which so often desolate the islands of 
the Caribbean and the Mexican ports on the Gulf of 
Mexico. This exemption is no doubt due, in a great 
degree, to the proximity of the mountains, and the ab- 
sence of marshes in its vicinity. 

Omoa receives an abundant supply offish, turtle, and 
wild fowl from the cays off the coast and the waters 
in its neighborhood. 

Truxillo. — This ancient port is situated in lat. 15° 
55^ IST., long. 86° W., upon the western shore of a no- 
ble bay, formed by the projecting land of Punta Cas- 
tilla. Young estimated the population in 1842 at two 
thousand five hundred, of which one thousand were 
whites and Ladinos, and fifteen hundred Caribs. The 
latter are described as tall, athletic, hardy, and indus- 
trious. The trade of the place is chiefly carried on 

* " The harbor of Omoa is formed by a little bay, with a low sandy point stretch- 
ing out about half a mile to the north, covered with mangrove-trees and bushes, 
which make a good shelter from the northern gales. The fort, or castle, stands at 
the head of the bay, near which is the best anchorage, in from four to sixteen fath- 
oms of water. As you approach the shore it shallows, and you may choose your 
own depth, say from sixteen to four fathoms, soft, muddy bottom, and good hold- 
ing-ground. In fine, it is a snug, safe harbor. The castle is large, and, like most 
other of the fortifications built by the Spaniards, very strong. When this province 
was under Spain, its convicts' were imprisoned in this castle. The town is located 
about a mile to the eastward of the landing-place at the castle. It is now a small 
place, containing about two hundred indifferent houses. The people of Omoa gen- 
erally are a simple-hearted, honest people, and wish to do justice and deal fairly 
with all foreigners who visit their place." — CoggeshaWs Voyages, ^d Series, p. 142 
(1852). 



CpIAP. VI.] PORT OF TRUXILLO. 103 

Avith Olancho, of which department it may be consid- 
ered as the port. Its exports, in common with those 
of Omoa, are hides, sarsaparilla, cochineal, indigo, cop- 
per, and silver. The subjoined description of Truxillo 
is extracted from the Narrative of G. W. Montgomery, 
Esq., United States Commissioner to Central America, 
who visited it in the year 1838:* 

" The town of Truxillo stands close Iby the sea, at the foot 
of a lofty mountain crowned with trees, and clothed with rich 
vegetation, reaching to the very edge of the water. It is an 
isolated, solitary place, of antique appearance, with a few houses, 
and these in ruinous condition. * * In former times, Trux- 
illo was a place of some importance, both in a mihtary and 
commercial point of view. It contained a considerable garrison, 
and the ruins of extensive barracks may yet be seen there. It 
carried on a flourishing trade with the metropolis, the manufac- 
tures of which Avere exchanged for the products of the country. 
Of these products the principal are mahogany, cedar, and other 
woods, sarsaparilla, hides, and tallow. There are also some 
mines of gold in the neighborhood, which, under proper man- 
agement, might be worked mth a profit. This place, however, 
has long been on the decline, and its prosperity is not hkely to 
return in many years. Its population, which now does not 
much exceed a thousand souls, was formerly twice or three times 
that number. 

"The principal street — and, strictly speaking, the only one, 
for the others scarcely deserve the name — extends from one end 
of the town to the other, and is paved. The houses, for the most 
part, are but one storj high, and their sombre, dilapidated ap- 
pearance, together with the grass-grown pavement, impart to the 
place a melancholy air of abandonment. It has, at the same 
time, something romantic in its situation, being inclosed by 
mountains, and imbosomed in an exuberant vegetation, which 
the efforts of man seem to have been unable to check. 



* Narrative of a Journey to Guatemala, etc., in 1838, by G. W. Montgomery. 
New York, 1839, p. 31. 



104 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

"There is scarcely any open ground in the vicinity, except 
here and there a cultivated spot, where the plantain, the yucca, 
and a little corn are raised for individual consumption. As the 
woods afford a rich pasture, the cattle are good, and milk is 
abundant ; and as the soil, hy its fertility, liberally repays the 
little labor bestowed on it, the very moderate wants of the in- 
habitants are easily supplied. 

" During my stay in Truxillo, I took a ramble in the woods, 
accompanied by the captain of the vessel. There is a brook in 
the neighborhood of the town which pursues a winding course 
through the woods and among the rocks until it falls into the 
sea. We resolved to explore its banks as far as circumstances 
might permit. We set out accordingly, each of us armed with 
a stout stick, in the apprehension of encountering snakes. In- 
deed, so exaggerated were the accounts I had received of the 
number of these reptiles infesting the woods, that I had con- 
ceived it impossible to move a step without danger of being at- 
tacked by them. As we proceeded in our excursion, I was 
agreeably surprised by the beauty of the scenery. The size and 
loftiness of the trees, some of them in blossom, and the deep ver- 
dure of their foliage, surpassed any thing I had ever seen of the 
kind. There was the tamarind-tree, the wild lemon, loaded with 
fruit, and the sassafras. There, too, was the mahogany-tree, 
which, like the sassafras, furnishes a staple commodity of the 
country, and a variety of other trees, with whose properties and 
names we were wholly unacquainted. There was a vast num- 
ber of plants, also, that seemed to me curious, and well worth 
the attention of a botanist. Parrots, pelicans, and other birds 
of brilliant plumage, were flying all around us ; there were sing- 
ing-birds among the trees, while in the limpid waters of the 
brook might be seen, now and then, the silvery sides of a fish 
glistening in the sun as it darted across the stream. The brook 
sometimes rushed and foamed noisily among groups of rocks or 
through narrow passes, and at other times glided peacefully on, 
with an almost imperceptible current. At one place a little bay 
was formed, deep and cool, where the smooth and placid surface 
of the water, which was beautifully transparent, reflected, as in 
a mirror, the overhanging trees. It was impossible not to be 



Chap, VI.] northern ports. 105 

afFected by the solitude and beauty of the scene ; the chaiTO was 
felt and acknowledged by my companion as well as myself. A 
pleasant breeze, blowing at the time, effectually prevented our 
being annoyed by mosquitoes ; and, singular as it seemed to 
me, we met wth no snake, nor any dangerous animal in our 
path." 

Puerto Sal is a small harbor a few miles to the east- 
ward of Puerto Caballos. The depth of water is not 
sufficient for large vessels. Some high rocks lie to the 
noi-thward of the point which shuts in the harbor, 
called the "Bishops," under the lee of which there is 
a very good anchorage. 

Triunfo de la Cruz is a large bay, which commences 
at Puerto Sal, and bends thence inward, forming a 
coast-line of upward of twenty miles, terminating in a 
cape called Cabo Triunfo. It is very well sheltered 
from the winds, and has good anchorage for ships of 
every denomination. 

Besides these harbors, there are many points on the 
north coast of Honduras where vessels may anchor 
under favorable circumstances. At the mouths of the 
Chamelicon, the Ulua, Lean, Black Eiver, Patook 
River, and off Carataska Lagoon, there are roadsteads, 
with good holding-ground, which are secure, except 
during the prevalence of north winds. 

The islands of Poatan and Guanaja both afford ex- 
cellent harbors, and there is also a good port on the 
south side of Utilla. The references had elsewhere to 
these islands preclude the necessity of any special ref- 
erence to then- ports. It is only necessary to say that 
these islands are surrounded by coral reefs and cays, 
which render approach to them difficult except under 
the direction of experienced pilots. 

Amapala is a free port, situated on the island of 



106 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VI. 

Tigre, in the Gulf of Fonseca, and is the principal, 
and, in fact, the only port of Honduras on the Pacific. 
The nominal port of La Paz, on the main land, is a 
simple office for the collection of duties on goods 
which may be introduced for sale. A sufficient account 
of this port is given in the j)aragraphs on the Bay of 
Fuseca, and in the description of the island of Tigre, 
in a subsequent chapter. 



Chap. VIL] islands of Honduras. 107 



CHAPTER VII. 

ISLANDS OF HONDURAS. 

T^O the northward of the main land of Honduras, in 
^ the bay of the same name, there is a cluster of 
islands lying nearly parallel to the coast, at a distance 
from it of from thirty to fifty miles. Their names, in 
the order of their size, are Koatan (sometimes written 
Ruatan and Rattan), Guanaja (or Bonacca), Utilla, 
Barharetta, Helena, and Morat. Dependent upon 
them are numerous coral islets or "cays" of small size. 
These islands have good soil, fine climate, advantageous 
position, and some of them excellent harbors, render- 
ing them both valuable and important to that portion 
of the continent upon which they are geographically 
dependent. 

Boatan, the largest of these islands, is about thirty 
miles long by nine broad at its widest part. "It may 
be considered," says Alcedo, "as the key of the Bay 
of Honduras, and the focus of the trade of the neigh- 
borino; countries." "This beautiful island," echoes 
Macgregor, "has an excellent harbor, easily defended, 
and is well adapted to the culture of cotton, coffee, and 
other tropical products." And Captain Mitchell, of 
the British Navy, whose account was written in 1850, 
adds, that "the local position of the island seems one 
of importance in a commercial, and perhaps in a polit- 
ical, point of view. It is the only place where good 
harbors are found on an extensive and dangerous 
coast." And also "that its proximit}' to Central 



108 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VII. 

America and Spanish Honduras seems to point it out 
as a good depot for English goods and manufactures, 
where they would find a ready market, even in opposi- 
tion to any duties placed on them.'''' " Roatan and Bo- 
nacca," writes another English author, "in conse- 
quence of their fine harbors, good soil, pure air, and 
great quantities of animals, fish, and fruits, and com- 
manding ground, are proverbially known in that part 
of the world as the 'Garden of the West Indies,' 'the 
Key to Spanish America,' and a 'New Gibraltar.' 
From their natural strength they might be made im- 
pregnable, being tenable with a very small force."* 

Strangeways affirms that here are found "great quan- 
tities of cocoanuts, wild figs, and excellent grapes. 
The forests produce white oaks and pine-trees fit for 
masts of merchant ships. It abounds with deer, wild 
hogs, Indian rabbits, and birds of many species. A 
constant breeze from the east cools and tempers the air, 
and there is abundance of excellent water." Younsf 

o 

describes the island "as one beautiful mass of ever- 
greens, from the shore to the tops of the high hills, in- 
terspersed with many cocoanut gardens ; and there are 
many patches of coff*ee, which, although abandoned, con- 
tinue to thrive well." 

The account of this island by Captain Mitchell, R. 
N., is the latest and fullest. He says that it has little 
waste land on it, and that the whole might be advan- 
tageously cultivated. 

"Limestone is the principal formation: there are also sand- 
stone and quartz, and a great deal of coral on the lower parts. 
The island seems originally to have been elevated by a volcanic 
eruption, and the lower portions Avashed up by the subsequent 
action of the sea. On the coral formations sand has been thrown 

^ * Memoir on the Mosquito Territory, by Captain John Wright, p. 16. 



Chap. VII.] island of eoatan. 109 

up ; then decayed vegetable matter and seeds, drifted or brought 
by birds from the continent and surrounding lands. These, 
springing up and decaying, have assisted in forming a fruitful 
soil, on which man lias at length landed, erected his dwelling, 
and has found the land subservient to his wants. These re- 
marks are applicable to the lower portions of the island. I have 
not lieard of any minerals having been collected on the island. 

" The island has a singularly beautiful appearance at a dis- 
tance, as you approach it in a ship. The mountains rise in a 
gradual height to the summit of nine hundred feet, and they 
seem successively to follow each other, intersected by valleys, 
tlie whole thickly and most luxuriantly wooded. As you draw 
near to it, you discover that palm and cocoanut-trees encircle 
the shores, and forest trees of various descriptions gi'ow on the 
higher hills. The natural beauty of its appearance is greatly 
enhanced when you cast anchor in one of its many harbors on 
the southern side. 

" In the valleys, alluvial deposits and decayed vegetable mat- 
ter form the soil, which is exceedingly rich and deep. On the 
mountains and their declivities, a red clay or marl predominates. 

" A great deal of good and useful timber is found spontane- 
ously growing on the island, such as Santa Maria wood, extens- 
ively used for ship-building, three varieties of oak, cedar, Span- 
ish elm, and lancewood, and the shores of the island are lined 
and surrounded Avith groves of cocoanut-trees ; a tree which, in 
administering to the wants of man, is hardly surpassed in trop- 
ical regions. The seeds of this tree in remote times have been 
probably drifted here, and they have sprang up in abundance on 
a sandy and low shore, which is found so congenial to their 
growth. 

"At present, the island produces in abundance cocoanuts, 
plantains, yams, bananas, pine-apples, etc., etc. ; but I feel con- 
vinced that bread-fiiiit, European vegetables, and, indeed, many 
fruits, vegetables, and productions of more temperate regions, 
would grow here. 

" The country is capable of raising all tropical productions, 
such as sugar, coffee, tobacco, etc., which might become staple 
commodities of export. 



110 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VII. 

" There was found on the island previous to its being inhab- 
ited a great quantity of deer, wild hogs, Indian rabbits, parrots, 
pigeons, birds of various descriptions, etc. Some years ago, 
previous to its settlement, men from small vessels and fishing- 
boats, employed on the surrounding coasts, originally resorted 
to this island for the purpose of supplying themselves vdth game 
and stock. 

" A great quantity of domestic animals, such as poultry, pigs, 
etc., are raised ; cattle might be raised, but the inhabitants have 
not yet the means of keeping them from destroying their plant- 
ations. 

" It seems probable the island at some remote period was 
thickly inhabited by the Indian race. In clearing away the 
land for plantations, many domestic and culinary utensils have 
been found. There is a tradition that the Spaniards (in accord- 
ance with their system of cruelty), on their first discovery of 
America, depopulated the island ; they seized upon the abo- 
rigines, and took them to the continent to work in the mines, 
whence they never returned. 

" A great deal of rain falls in the winter months from Septem- 
ber to February. This has the effect of cooling the air beyond 
what is felt in the other parts of the West Indies, and the breeze 
tempers the influence of the sun. If the people could keep 
themselves dry and free from damp, the climate must not only 
be exceedingly agreeable, but singularly pure and healthy. The 
dry months are much warmer ; the natives, however, do not com- 
plain of the heat ; they aver that it is the healthier portion of 
the year. The thermometer since we have been here (January) 
has averaged 80° of Fahrenheit. 

"Rheumatism is very common, and a species of low fever or 
ague ; the latter probably arises fi'om the land not being suffi- 
ciently cleared away, and a luxuriant and decaying vegetation ; 
the former from constant damp and exposure. Yet I should 
think, from my limited observation, that the climate is not only 
healthy to those born in warm latitudes, but that Europeans, 
with proper precautions, might enjoy not only health, but live 
to a good old age. 

"The population of the island is now estimated at 1600 or 



Chap. VII.] island of roatan. Ill 

1700. In 1843 it was only eighty. It has gone on steadUy 
and rapidly increasing, and there are at present three bu'ths to 
one death. With the means of existence at hand, and almost 
prepared for them, the young people have a disposition to marry 
at an early age ; their families are large, many consisting of nine 
to ten, and even more childi-en. They seem to be a proof of 
what has been often asserted in civilized countries, that a diet 
of vegetables and fish, or what is usually termed scanty food, is 
favorable to population. 

" The population is scattered in different parts along the whole 
sea-shore of the island ; from obvious reasons, they find these lo- 
calities more convenient than the interior. They here erect their 
dwellings, in the midst of their palm and plantain groves, having 
their little vessels and fishing-boats in quiet and sheltered nooks, 
and convey their produce and seek for their wants by water-car- 
riage. 

"xU Coxen Hole, or Port M'Donald, the greatest numbers 
seem located : there are here perhaps five hundred. It is a safe 
and sheltered harbor ; yet chance seems to have directed them, 
in the first instance, to this spot, as I am inclined to believe, 
from my limited observation, there are other places more eligi- 
ble for a township. 

" The mass of the population is composed of liberated slaves 
from the Grand Cayman, and a small portion of the inhabitants 
are colored people, also natives of that island, and formerly slave- 
owners. These latter people seem to be the most ■svretched on 
the island ; unaccustomed to labor, and having lost their prop- 
erty and then- slaves, or squandered away what they obtained 
for them, they have no longer any means of existence. From a 
false feeling of pride, so universal in man, and found alike in all 
countries, they were unwilling to labor in a smaU. island where 
they were once regarded with comparative consequence, and they 
emigrated and sought then: fortunes on tjie unpeopled shores of 
Ruatan. The slaves who had obtained their fr-eedom, but could 
not procure labor in a small island like the Grand Cayman, 
hearing of the success of their former masters, followed in their 
footsteps. 

" The dark population, or those who were formerly slaves, 



112 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YII. 

from their physical powers and their habits of labor fr^om child- 
hood, soon surpassed the white population in the accumulation 
of the means of existence, and are now the most thriving and 
successful. 

" If riches be estimated from man's wants being easily sup- 
plied, and the accumulation of more than he requires, these 
people are not only wealthy, but in far better circumstances than 
many of those who are relieved from manual labor in Europe. 

" Added to these two classes, a third, and much smaller one, 
must be named, which consists purely of Europeans. They are 
men who have tried various pursuits and professions of life, 
which they have given up for various reasons, have taken to 
others, and have become familiar with the hard usages of ad- 
versity ; and they sought this remote island, some in their old 
and some in their middle age, either to commence again, or to 
retrieve their broken fortunes, or to speculate in an imaginary 
construction of wealth. This class, though small in numbers, 
exercise a great influence over the minds of the community. 

" The mass of the population is a fine race. They are strong, 
active, and athletic, temperate, quiet, and regular in their hab- 
its, not given to excess. The sexes are equally divided, and 
the old, who have lived with women in the days of slavery, 
evince a disposition to be married. I should say they have 
fewer vices than one usually meets among their class. As a 
proof that their character is good, they have lived and are liv- 
ing without any form of government or restraint, and the crimes 
that have been committed are comparatively few. 

" Their occupation consists in cultivating their grounds and 
plantations, fishing, turtling, etc. Necessity, in all countries 
and in the first rude ages of civilization, has been fertile in in- 
vention, consequently it is by no means extraordinary to find 
the mass of these people familiar with those rude mechanical 
arts of which they stand so much in need. Every man erects 
his own dwelling, plants and lays out his ground — most are 
carpenters, some good rope-makers. They have a knowledge 
of boat and ship building, the making of lime, etc., and other 
useful attainments. Their dwellings are well and comfortably 
made. 



Chap. VII.] island of roatan. 113 

" Tlieii* trade or commerce is in their plantains, cocoanuts, 
pine-apples, etc., and this trade is steadily increasing. With 
these articles they ti-ade to New Orleans, bringing back lumber, 
dry and salt provisions, etc. 

" Their relations with other countries consist principally with 
New Orleans, Belize, and Spanish Honduras. 

" I should conceive the island might maintain a population 
of 15,000 or 20,000 when cultivated. 

" The harbors on the south side of this island are many and 
good. I have visited Coxen Hole, or Port M 'Donald, and Dix- 
on's Cove. In both of these you are sheltered from all winds. 
They have great facilities for heaving down and repairing ships, 
and fresh water is found in abundance. 

"Dixon's Cove is a good harbor. It is about sis miles to 
the eastward of Port J\I 'Donald, in some points preferable to 
the latter. A ship having lost her anchors might run into this 
harbor and ground upon the soft mud without injury. Many 
ships might find anchorage here. 

"There is, again, Port Koyal, a much larger harbor, and where 
twenty or thirty sail of the line might be moored. Its entrance 
is exceedingly narrow, which is its drawback, and the land is 
said not to be so fertile. Generally speaking, these harbors are 
surrounded by reefs of coral ; their channels are narrow, and 
ought never to be attempted by strangers ; but a local knowledge 
is easily obtained.* The channels between the reefs are deep, 
and show themselves by the blueness of the water."* 

Twenty-two vessels left Hoatan in the year 1854, 
with fruits and vegetables for New Orleans. 

Griianaja or Bonacca was discovered by Columbus, 
then sailing on his fourth voyage, in 1502. It was 
surveyed in 1840 by Lieutenant Thomas N. Smith. 
R. N., and, according to the chart published under or- 
der of the British Admiralty, is nine miles in length 
by five in breadth. It is distant about fifty miles 

* Statistical Account and Description of the Island of Roatan, by Com. R. C. 
Mitchell, R- N., United Service Magazine, August, 1850. 

H 



114 EEPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. VII. 

from the nearest point on the main land, and about 
fifteen miles to the northeast of Roatan, with which it 
is connected by a series of reefs, through which there 
are only a few narrow passages. The land is high, and 
can be seen from a great distance at sea. Henderson 
touched its shores during his voyage, anchoring in "a 
little bay of great depth of water, which, however, was 
so transparent that the shell-fish and coral rocks at the 
bottom could be clearly discerned. This part of the 
island," he continues, "is highly romantic and pictur- 
esque, and, like Roatan, profusely covered with trees. 
Its natural productions appear to be the same."* Rob- 
erts also visited it, "landing opposite a watering-place, 
in an excellent harbor on the south side. The beach, 
above high-water mark, was thickly covered with cocoa- 
nut trees, and innumerable tracks of the wild hog were 
visible on the ground. The island contains hills of 
considerable elevation, thickly covered with trees, and 
is said also to have beds of limestone and ores of 
zinc."t 

The account of Young, who was forced to take shel- 
ter there through stress of weather, is fuller, and gives 
a picture of the island as it was in 1841. 

"It is covered with high hills, producing much valuable tim- 
ber, and in the rich valleys and fertile savannas are numerous 
fruit-trees of various kinds. Along the water's edge, in many 
parts of the island, are numbers of cocoanut-trees. One spot, 
in particular, in the middle of the island, is called the cocoanut 
garden, where there are many other fruit-trees, indicating the 
hand of industry. Viewed from any part, the island has a pleas- 
ing appearance, and, though small, might be made of importance 
if the English were to establish themselves upon it. The woods 
abound in wild hogs of large size, and thousands of Indian rab- 

* Henderson's Honduras, p. 194. t Roberts's Narrative, p. 276. 



Chap. VII. ] island of guanaja. 115 

bits ; the trees are full of pigeons and parrots ; and the lagoons 
and harbors are celebrated for an immense variety of fish, which 
may easily be caught by going toward the edges of the coral 
reefs in a dory (canoe), where the bottom is plainly Adsible. 
Here the splendid sea-fans expand themselves, and almost invite 
the beholder to grasp them, so seducing are they in appearance, 
and so deceptive is the depth of the water. In some places large 
clusters of sponge can be seen ; in others, handsome sea-eggs, 
inviting but to betray ; and, altogether, with the numerous cays, 
studded with graceful cocoanut-trees around, there can not be 
imagined a scene more novel and beautifid. Under the rocks, 
on the reefs round the cays, are plenty of craw-fish ; conchs and 
wilks are found in all parts, and a species of iguana, called il- 
lishle, abounds in every cay. The climate is exceedingly good, 
and during the ravages of the cholera at Truxillo a few years 
ago, the commandant of that place sent many to this island for 
the recovery of their health. Of the whole number, but three 
died. When Black River was occupied by the British, before 
the evacuation took place in 1778 by order of the British gov- 
ernment, in consequence of its agreement with S]3ain, those of the 
colonists who were seized with the intermittent fever were sent 
to Guanaja, whence they generally returned improved in health 
and strength. It is surprising, considering the salubrity of this 
island, the richness of its soil, its woods, and fisheries, and its 
adaptation to many purposes, that it has never been settled by 
the English. By many traces, it is clear that it was formerly 
populated by the Indians. 

" In one part of the island, near Savanna Bight Cay, there 
is a very rich and fine savanna, Avith several firuit-trees in it ; 
and, what is more singular, near the place a stone wall has been 
discovered, evidently, by its shape and appearance, the work of 
uncivilized man. This wall nins along for some distance a few 
feet high, and here and there are fissures, or rude niches, made 
for the admission of peculiarly-cut three-legged stone chairs, 
which,' I suppose, must have been seats for their idols. Sev- 
eral places have been discovered cut out of the solid rock rep- 
resenting chairs, and numerous articles of roughly-bumed clay, 
in various fantastical devices, for holding liquids, have been 



116 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VII. 

found, as also broken English crockery and iron ; and I have 
seen several curious things in the possession of various people, 
which have been dug up, and are doubtless of Indian manufac- 
ture. I understand the adjacent island, Roatan, exhibits yet 
more proofs of having been inhabited by an uncivilized race. 

" In the months of April and May, thousands of birds, called 
boobies and noddies, generally lay their eggs on the southwest 
part of Half-moon Cay, thus affording a most delicious provision 
for nearly two months. 

" The number of cocoanut-trees is really incredible, so much 
so that great advantage might be derived from making oil, which 
might be effected at a small expense, especially as living, after 
the first twelve months, would cost little or nothing but labor, 
allowing that time for the establishment of plantations an the 
main land for any sort of bread kind, as the soil is so well adapt- 
ed for such a purpose. Plantains, which may be considered as 
the standard, thrive wonderfully ; this, with keeping some hogs 
and fowls on a cay, and feeding them on the refuse of the cocoa- 
nut, etc., would, in a short period, show the advantage to be 
reaped. A few good Spanish dogs for hunting the wild hog, 
two or three turtle-nets, harpoons, hooks and lines, and fish-pots, 
are indispensable. On the island may also be grown coffee, 
cotton, tobacco, cacao, etc. During the greater part of the year 
plenty of fish and wild hogs can be caught, but when bad weath- 
er sets in, which is sometimes the case, little good can be done. 

" With respect to making oil, it takes about fourteen common 
sized nuts to make a quart, by the method in vogue at Roatan, 
etc. ; but by the introduction of the hydraulic press, I should 
say, a quart might be expressed from nine or ten, and with a 
great saving of labor. 

" The many uses to which the cocoanut-tree and its fruit can 
be applied are pretty weU known ; suffice it to say, it may be 
considered as one of the most valuable productions which a 
bountiftd Providence has lavished on tropical climates. At the 
present time the island abounds with wild hogs, they not hav- 
ing been hunted much lately. Caribs occasionally resort to 
Guanaja for the purpose of hunting these animals, but they have 
not been so frequently as in former years, thus the hogs have 



Chap. VII.] island of guanaja. 117 

mucli increased. The only things that can Ibe said to militate 
against the island and its cays are, firstly, the myriads of bottle 
and horse-flies on the former, and mosquitoes and sand-flies on 
the latter, which apjjear to deter people from setthng ; although 
it is evident that, when a place is covered Avith vegetation, these 
annoying insects must exist, and that, as the land becomes clear- 
ed, the flies will gradually diminish. 

"From March to June the cays are subject to the pest of 
whole armies of soldier-snails, creeping and crawling over every- 
thing the moment the sun sets, and with such an indescribable 
noise as to surpass belief; the dead branches on the ground 
creak and break under the legion as they advance, consuming 
all in their progress. They were a great nuisance to us, as we 
were obhged to hang up our hammocks pretty high. 

" On the whole, Guanaja may be considered a fine island, and 
one on which any man could soon obtain the necessaries of life, 
and with energy, activity, and a strict determination to sobriety, 
even the luxuries, without fear of a bastile in his old age. 

Helena^ Morat, and Barharetta, are comparatively 
small islands, and may be regarded as detached parts 
of Boatan. They are, in fact, connected with it by 
reefs, through which there are only a few narrow and 
intricate passages. Captain Henderson, who visited 
Barbaretta in 1804, has left us a very animated and 
quite an enthusiastic account of its beauty. He de- 
scribes it as high, and covered with a dense forest. 

"After a walk of a mile and a half along the beach, in a course 
contrary to that which I had pursued the day before, we came 
to the rocks, and here, although our progress seemed less diffi- 
cult to the eye, it scarcely presented fewer obstacles to the feet. 
Difficulties, however, sink before determination. After some 
trouble, I gained a firm station on a tolerable eminence, and 
without resorting to the extravagant and affected language some- 
times used on similar occasions, I might truly say the whole was 
enchantingly beautiful and picturesque. The spot on which 1 
stood might be connected with a space of somewhat more than 



118 BEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VII. 

half an acre, entirely clear of trees, and covered with luxuriant 
grass. Beyond this the whole became a thick, continued grove, 

' Where scarce a speck of day 
Falls on the lengthened gloom.' 

At the base of the rock the sea rolled with loud and haughty 
sway, and the confused masses of stone which lay scattered about 
at once confessed its uncontrollable dominion."* 

It was subsequently visited in 1841 by Young, who 
found some Spaniards from the main land established 
there. One of these, Senor Ruiz, showed him over his 
"large and extensive plantations, full of all manner 
of bread kind, besides greens, peas, and beans of vari- 
ous descri]3tions. He had a large expanse of ground 
covered with cotton-plants, and hundreds of papaya- 
trees, the fruit of which he gave to his fowls and hogs. 
He had also a cane-patch, and a small mill for crush- 
ing it, as he made his own sugar. There was a large 
turtle-crawl op|)Osite his dwelling containing eight tur- 
tles. In rainy weather, he employed his people in the 
manufacture of cocoanut oil. " Finding him surround- 
ed with all these means of comfortable and even luxu- 
rious existence. Young was astonished to learn that he 
had arrived there only three years previously, "with 
his wife, his son, about eleven years of age, some pro- 
visions, a gun, two or three machetes (large knives), 
and a few hooks, and other trifles.'" " I thought," con- 
tinues this author, " of the thousands of my poor coun- 
trymen struggling in vain for a decent subsistence, and 
who would live in independence if similarly situated, 
instead of being brought to an early grave by disap- 
pointed hopes, or the weight of a large family, "f Rob- 
erts, who also visited Barbaretta, speaks of finding 
"three or four sorts of wild grapes." 

* Henderson's Honduras, p. 194. t Young's Narrative, p. 151. 



Chap. VIL] island of Helena. 119 

Helena is smaller than Barbaretta, distant from it 
between four and five miles, near the extreme north- 
eastern extremity of Hoatan. Young found there a 
Frenchman, in the Honduras service, who had "plant- 
ations and large nets for turtling. " His principal bus- 
iness, however, was that of making lime, which he sold 
at Omoa and other places at from two to three dollars 
a barrel: "rather a high price, but which he obtained 
in consequence of its strength, the kind of stone from 
which it is made being found chiefly in this island." 

Honduras has two large islands in the Gulf of Fon- 
seca, on the Pacific, viz., Tigre and Sacate Grande, 
which are described in the account elsewhere given of 
that gulf. 



120 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

POLITICAL DIVISIONS DEPARTMENTS OF COMAYAGUA, GRA- 
CIAS, CHOLUTECA, TEGUCIGALPA, OLANCHO, YORO, AND 
STA. BARBARA. 

'T^HE political divisions of Honduras are seven, viz. : 
-^ the Departments of Gracias, Comayagua, Cholu- 
teca, Tegucigalpa, Olancho, Yoro, and Sta. Barbara. 
The subjoined table expresses the capital, area, and pop- 
ulation of each, as also the aggregate area and popula- 
tion of the state : 

HONDURAS— Capital, COMAYAGUA. 



Departments. 


Capitals. 


Area in Square 

Miles. 


Population. 


Inhabitants to 
Square Mile. 


Comayagua . 
Tegucigalpa . 
Choluteca . . 
Sta. Barbara . 
Gracias. . . . 

Yoro 

Olancho . . . 


Comayagua . 
Tegucigalpa . 
Nacaome . . . 
Sta. Barbara . 
Gracias .... 

Yoro 

Olancho .... 


4,800 
1,500 
2,000 
3,250 
4,050 
15,100 
11,300 


70,000 

60,000 

50,000 

50,000 

55,000 

20,000* 

45,000* 


14i 
43 

25' 

13X 


Total 


39,600 


350,000 


9 





Each department has a distinct representation in the 
general Congress of the state, and is governed by an 
officer appointed by the central government, Avho bears 
ihe title of Jefe Politico, or political chief. Each de- 
partment is also subdivided into districts, for the con- 
venience of the inhabitants and the better administra- 
tion of justice. 

* The population in Yoro and Olancho is calculated exclusive of the Indian 
tribes ; and the area of the unsettled country, comprising nearly the whole of the 
eastern and politically unorganized half of the state, is divided between these two 
departments. 



Chap. VIII.] political divisions. 121 

DEPARTMENT OF COMAYAGUA. , 

Districts. — Comayagua, Lajamini, Yucusapa, Sigua- 
tepeque, Miambar, Aguanqueterique, Goascoran. 

Principal Toivns. — Las Pieclras, or Villa de la Paz, 
Villa de San Antonio, Opoteca, Espino, San Antonio 
del Norte, Goascoran, and Caridad. 

Tlie Department of Comayagua, lying in the very 
centre of Honduras, and comprehending its capital, the 
ancient city of Comayagua, is entitled to the first place 
in a notice of the various departmental divisions of the 
state. Its distinguishing geographical feature is the 
plain of the same name, to which I have elsewhere ad- 
verted, and in which a great part of the population of 
the department is concentrated. The capital itself, the 
considerable towns of Las Piedras and San Antonio, 
and the smaller towns of Ajuterique, Lajamini, Yaru- 
mela. Cane, Tambla, Lamani, and Lo de Flores, are 
all found in this plain, embracing a population of not 
far from 25,000 souls. 

The city of Comayagua (anciently called Valladolid) 
is situated on the southern border of the plain. It was 
founded in 1540 by Alonzo Caceres, in obedience to 
instructions '''■to find out an eligible situation for a town 
midivay hetween the oceans.'''' 

It now contains between 7000 and 8000 inhabitants. 
Previous to 1827 it had about 18,000, and was embel- 
lished with fountains and monuments. In that year 
it was taken and burned by the monarchical faction of 
Guatemala, and has never been able wholly to recover 
from the shock. 

In the maps its position has been put too far to the 
eastward and southward. It is in lat. 14° 28'' N., and 
long. 87° 39^ W., and in a right line, or within a few 
miles of a right line, drawn between the mouth of the 



122 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIIL 

Ulua and that of the Goascoran. Its distance from 
the Bay of Fonseca is seventy miles, and it is, within 
a few miles more or less, midway between the tAVO seas. 

Comayagua is the seat of a bishopric, and has a large, 
and, according to Spanish taste, an elegant Cathedral. 
It has also a University, founded many years ago, but 
which declined in consequence of the adverse political 
circumstances of the country, until it was revived in 
1849, under the auspices of Dr. Don Juan Lindo, a 
man of enlightened spirit, then president of the state. 
The trade of the city is small. Hitherto the difficulty 
of communication with the coast has prevented it from 
gaining any commercial eminence. But when the in- 
centives and means for developing the resources of the 
adjacent country shall be afforded, it must become a 
place of much importance. 

The plain, upon its eastern and western borders, is 
skirted by mountains five or six thousand feet high, 
and it consequently enjoys a climate cool, equal, and 
salubrious, comparing in respect of temperature with 
the Middle States of our Union in the month of June. 
The hills and mountains adjacent to the plain are cov- 
ered with pines, and on their summit and slopes, Avheat, 
potatoes, and other products of the temperate zones 
are cultivated, and may be produced in abundance. 
The productions of the plain, however, are essentially 
tropical. Its soil is extremely fertile. In short, the 
plain of Comayagua offers all the conditions for at- 
tracting and sustaining, as there is abundant evidence 
that it formerly sustained, a large and flourishing pop- 
ulation. 

Indeed, hardly a step can be taken in any direction 
without encountering evidences of aboriginal occupa- 
tion, and the names of the principal towns in the valley 








H 







§ w 


















Chap. VIII. ] department of comatagua. 123 

are only perpetuations of those which they possessed 
before the conquest. In some of them the predomi- 
nating portion of the population is still unmixed In- 
dian. Lamani,Tainbla,Yarumela, Ajuterique, Lajami- 
ni, and Cururu, are all Indian names. There are also 
many Indian towns which have been entirely abandon- 
ed as the population of the country has decreased, and 
of which the traces are now scarcely visible. 

The principal ruins, strictly aboriginal and of ancient 
arcliitecture, are in the vicinity of Yarumela, Lajamini, 
and near the ruised town of Cururu. They consist of 
large pyramidal, terraced structures, often faced with 
stones, conical mounds of earth, and walls of stone. 
In these, and in their vicinit}^, are found carvings in 
stone, and painted vases of great beauty. 

The 2^1'ii^cipal monuments, however, retaining dis- 
tinctly their primitive forms, can hardly be said to be 
in the plain of Comayagua. They are found in the lat- 
eral valleys, or on the adjacent tables ("mesas'") of the 
mountains. Of this descri]3tion are the ruins of Cala- 
mulla, on the road to the Indian mountain toAvn of 
Guajiquero ; of Jamalteca, in the little valley of the 
same name ; of Maniani, in the valley of Espino ; of 
Guasistagua, near the little village of the same name ; 
of Chapuluca, in the neighborhood of Opoteca ; and 
of Chapulistagua, in a large valley back of the mount- 
ains of Comayagua. I have visited all of these, but 
in many respects the most interesting, and by far the 
most extensive, are those of Tenampua. 

The ruins of Tenampua are popularly called Pueblo 
Vicjo, Old Town. They are situated on the level sum- 
mit of a high hill, almost deserving the name of mount- 
ain, about twenty miles to the southeast of Comaya- 
gua, near the insignificant village of Lo de Flores, by 



124 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIII. 

the side of the road leading to the city of Tegucigalpa. 
The summit of the hill is a plain or savanna, covered 
with scattered pines, and elevated about sixteen hund- 
red feet above the plain of Comayagua, of which, in 
every part, a magnificent view is commanded. The 
hill is composed of the prevailing soft, white, strati- 
fied sandstone of this region, and its sides, except at 
three points, are either absolutely precipitous, or so 
steep as to be nearly if not quite inaccessible. At the 
accessible point, where narrow ridges connect the hill 
with the other hills of the group, are heavy artificial 
walls of rough stones, varying in height from six to fif- 
teen feet, and in width, at the base, from ten to twenty- 
five feet. These walls are terraced on the inner side, 
for convenience of defense. At various points there 
are traces of towers, or buildings designed perhaps for 
the use of guards or sentinels. The dimensions of the 
wall correspond to the greater or less abruptness of the 
slope along which it is carried, and are greatest where 
the ascent or approach is easiest. Where narrow gul- 
lies or natural passes existed, the hollows have been 
filled with stones, so as to present a vertical outer face, 
corresponding with the rocky escarpment of the hill. 
Naturally, I think this place is the strongest position I 
have ever seen. That it was selected, in part at least, 
for defense is obvious. Under any system of warfare 
practiced by the aborigines, it must have been impreg- 
nable. The defensive design is made still more appa- 
rent by the existence, in the centre of the area of the 
summit, at a place naturally low and marshy, of two 
large square excavations, now partially filled up, which 
were clearly designed for reservoirs. 

But the most interesting features of Tenampua are 
not its ruined walls and defenses. The level summit 



Chap. VIII.] department of comayagua. 125 

of the hill is about one and a half miles long, by half 
a mile in average width. The eastern half of this 
large area is crowded with ruins. They consist chiefly 
of terraced mounds of stone, or of earth faced with 
stone, of regular rectangular forms, their sides conform- 
ing to the cardinal points. Although the stones are 
uncut, they are laid with great precision. Most of the 
small mounds, which occur in groups, and are arranged 
with obvious design in respect to each other, are from 
twenty to thirty feet square, and from four to eight 
feet in height. There are none of less than two, but 
most have three or four stages. Besides these, there 
are a considerable number of large pj^amidal struc- 
tures, varying from sixty to one hundi^ed and twenty 
feet in length, of proportional width, and of different 
heights. These are also terraced, and generally have 
ruins of steps on then- western sides. There are also 
several rectangular inclosures of stone, and a number 
of platforms and terraced slopes. 

The principal inclosure is situated in the very midst 
of the ruins, at a point conspicuous from every portion 
of the hill. It is three hundred feet long by one hund- 
red and eighty feet broad. The wall is fourteen feet 
broad, but now elevated only a few feet above the 
ground. It seems to have consisted of an outer and 
inner wall, each about two feet thick, between which 
earth had been filled to the depth of two feet. Trans- 
verse walls then appear to have been built at regular 
intervals, dividing it into rectangular areas, resembling 
the foundations of houses. It is not improbable they 
were smnnounted by structures of wood, devoted to the 
use of the priests or guardians of the great temple, in 
the same manner that, according to the chroniclers, 
"the cloisters of the priests and attendants" surround- 



126 EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS [ChAP. VIII. 

ed the court of the great temple of Mexico. The line 
of the wall is only interrupted by the gateway or en- 
trance, which is on the western side, between two ob- 
long terraced mounds, in which the ends of the wall 
terminate. To preserve the symmetry of the inclo- 
sure, the opposite or eastern wall has in its centre a 
large mound, also terraced and regular in form, equal- 
ing in size both those at the entrance. 

Within the inclosures are two large mounds, the rel- 
ative positions and sizes of which can only be explained 
by a plan. The largest has three stages and a flight 
of steps on its western side. From its southwest an- 
gle a line of large stones, sunk in the ground, is carried 
to the southern wall. The north line of this mound 
coincides with one drawn from east to west through 
the centre of the inclosure. Between it and the gate- 
way is a square of stones, sunk in the ground, which 
may mark the site of some edifice. The second pyr- 
amid is situated in the northeast corner of the in- 
closure ; it has the same number of stages with the 
larger one just described, and, like that, has a flight of 
steps on its western side. 

At the extreme southeast corner of the hill is anoth- 
er inclosure similar to this, except that it is square, and 
has openings in the centre of each side. It also con- 
tains two terraced mounds, ascended by steps. Be- 
tween the great inclosure, or central structure, and the 
precipice which faces the hill on the south, is a depres- 
sion or small valley. This is terraced upon both sides, 
the terraces being faced with stone, ascended by vari- 
ous flights of stone steps. The principal mound be- 
yond this depression is situated upon the edge of the 
precipice, due south of the great mound in the princi- 
pal inclosure. It commands a view of the entire south- 



Chap. VIII.] department of comayagua. 127 

em half of the plain of Comayagua, and fires lighted 
upon it would be visible to all the inhabitants below. 
I could not resrist the conviction that its position had 
been determined by this circumstance. 

There are many other striking features in these ruins, 
of which no adequate idea can be conveyed except from 
plans, and which, therefore, I shall not attempt to de- 
scribe. The most singular, perhaps, consists of two 
long parallel mounds, each one hundred and forty feet 
in length, thirty-six feet broad at the base, and ten feet 
high in the centre. The inner sides of each, facing 
each other, appear to have consisted of three terraces, 
rising like the seats of an amphitheatre. The lower 
terraces are forty feet apart, and faced with huge flat 
stones, set upright in the ground, so as to present an 
even front. The outer sides of these mounds have an 
appearance corresponding with that of the walls of the 
great inclosure, and each seems to have been the site 
of three large buildino;s. The whole rests on a terrace 
three hundred and sixty feet long. Exactly in a line 
with the centre of the space between these parallels, 
and distant twenty-four paces, are two large stones 
placed side by side, with an opening of about one foot 
between them. Fronting these to the northward, and 
distant one hundred and twenty paces, is a large mound 
occupying a corresponding relative position in respect 
to the parallels, and having a flight of steps on its south- 
ern side. Upon these mounds, as indeed upon manj^ 
of the others, are standing large pine-trees, upward of 
two feet in diameter. Without attempting to define 
the special purposes of these parallels, it seems to me 
probable that they had a corresponding design with 
the parallel walls found by Mr. Stephens at Chichen- 
Itza and Uxmal in Yucatan. Doubtless games, proces- 



128 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIIL 

sions, or otlier civic or religious rites or ceremonies, 
took place between them, in the presence of priests or 
dio-nitaries who were seated upon the terraces on either 
hand. 

The form of the various mounds at Tenampua pre- 
cludes the idea that they were used as the foundations 
of dwellings. It seems quite clear that they were ei- 
ther altars, or sites of temples — counterparts of those 
of Guatemala, Yucatan, and Mexico, and of a large por- 
tion of those found in the Mississipj)i Valley, with all 
of which they accurately coincide in the principles of 
their construction. I was able to excavate but one, 
situated in the vicinity of the great temple. The mass 
of the mound, after penetrating the stone facing, was 
found to be simple earth ; but the interior of the up- 
per terrace was composed almost entirely of burned 
matter, ashes, and fragments of pottery. Great quan- 
tities of these fragments were discovered, and I was 
able to recover enough of some vessels to make out their 
shape, and the paintings and ornaments upon them. 
Some were flat, like pans ; others had been vases of va- 
rious forms. All were elaborately painted with simple 
ornaments or mythological figures. One small, gourd- 
shaped vase, of rude workmanship, I recovered nearly 
entire. It was filled with a dark-colored, indurated 
matter, which it was impossible to remove. Fragments 
of obsidian knives were also found. 

Near the western extremity of the summit of the hill 
are two deep holes with perpendicular sides, sunk into 
the rock. They are about twenty feet square and twelve 
feet deep. Although now partially filled with earth, 
a passage is to be discovered at the bottom of each, 
leading off to the north. These passages seem to have 
been about three feet high by nearly the same width. 



Chap. VIII.] department of comayagua. 129 

How far they may go, or whither they lead, is unknown. 
The water which flows into them during, rains finds a 
ready outlet. I am unprepared to decide whether these 
openings are natural or artificial, but incline to the 
opinion that they are natural, Avitli perhaps artificial im- 
provements or adaptations. A ruined pyramid stands 
near the principal mouth. The tradition concerning 
them is that they were dug by 'the "antiguos," and lead 
to the ruins of Chapulistagua, beyond the mountains, 
and were designed to afford an easy means of flight in 
case of danger. 

Altoo-ether there are here the remains of between 

o 

three and four hundred terraced, truncated pyramids 
of various sizes, besides the other singular inclosures 
which I have mentioned. 

The whole place probably served both for religious 
and defensive purposes. This union of purposes was 
far from uncommon among the semi-civilized families 
of this continent. I have presented, in my work on 
the Monuments of the Mississippi Valley, many in- 
stances in Avhich structures strictly religious are found 
within works clearly defensive. It was within the area, 
and on the steps and terraces of the great temple of 
Mexico, that the Aztecs made their final and most de- 
termined stand against the arms of Cortez. It is not 
to be supposed, however, that this was a fortified town, 
or a place permanently occupied by any considerable 
population. The summit of the hill is rocky, and the 
soil thin and poor, affording few of the usual accesso- 
ries of a large Indian population, viz., abundant water 
and rich lands. The builders doubtless had their per- 
manent residences in the plain below, and only came 
here to perform religious or sepulchral rites, or to find 
safety in times of danger. 

I 



1 30 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIII. 

Falling within the Department of Comayagua is the 
plain of Espino. It lies to the northward of the plain 
of Comayagua, from which it is separated by only a 
narrow range of hills, and of which it maybe regarded 
as an extension or dependency. It is watered by the 
same river, the Humuya, which traverses its entire 
length. The plain of Espino is sometimes called Ma- 
niani. It is much smaller than that of Comayagua, be- 
ing but about twelve miles long by eight broad, but in 
other respects, such as climate, productions, etc., what 
is true of one is equally true of the other. 

Dependent also upon the plain of Espino is the small 
lateral valley of Jamalteca, a spot of surpassing beauty, 
abounding in springs of water, which sustain its vege- 
tation fresh and vigorous, and enable the inhabitants 
to keep an uninterrupted succession of crops during 
the dryest seasons, when the country elsewhere is 
parched, and agriculture is suspended. In this valley 
are some very interesting monuments of the aborigines, 
indicating a large ancient population. 

Nearly the whole length of the valley of the Rio Go- 
ascoran, which flows southward from the plain of Coma- 
yagua into the Gulf of Fonseca, falls within this depart- 
ment. This valley is narrow, and, except at its mouth, 
where it expands into the Pacific plains, does not em- 
brace much valuable land. It is chiefly interesting as 
offering an easy route for the projected line of railway. 

The mountains of San Juan or Guajiquero, in the 
southeast portion of this department, are occupied ex- 
clusively by Indians descended from the aboriginal 
Lencas. These mountains of stratified white sandstone 
are naturally terraced, presenting to the eye bold 
escarpments of rock, but supporting beautiful level 
areas, covered with rich soil, on which the Indians cul- 



Chap. VIII.] department of comayagua. 131 

tivate wheat and other grains, and the fruits of higher 
latitudes. They also rear a fine and very hardy race 
of mules, and altogether evince a degree of persever- 
ance and industry, very wide nevertheless of enter- 
prise, which we look for in vain among the semi-Eu- 
ropean inhabitants. 

Every department in Honduras possesses more or 
less mineral wealth. In this respect, although not 
ranking so high as some of the others, the Department 
of Comayagua is abundantly favored. The considera- 
ble town of Opoteca is literally built upon a silver 
mine, which was most extensively worked under the 
crown, and with signal success. At* present the atten- 
tion of the inhabitants, for obvious reasons, is directed 
to agriculture. Near Aramacina, Las Piedras, and in 
the mountains near Lauterique, are numerous mines of 
silver, now wholly abandoned or imperfectly worked. 
They only need the touch of intelligence, enterprise, 
and capital to become of value. CojDper ores exist in 
abundance, but no attempt has ever been made to re- 
duce them. Throughout the entire department there 
are vast beds of blue and veined marble, j)roper for ev- 
ery class of constructions and for conversion into lime. 
The predominating rock is sandstone, generally milky 
white, but sometimes of cream color verging on orange. 
Near Guajiquero are also found inexhaustible beds 
of variously-colored ochres, of fine quality. These 
were and still are used for painting by the aborigines. 
The colors are remarkably vivid. 

Pine and oak are abundant on the hills througliout 
this department, and mahogany, cedar, and lignum- 
vitse, as well as other useful woods, are found in all de- 
sirable quantities in the valleys bordering the streams. 
Many varieties of cactus are found in the plain of Co- 



132 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIII. 

mayao-ua. The most common is the* variety called the 
nopal in Mexico, and which is cultivated in the south- 
ern states of that country, and in Guatemala, for the 
production of cochineal. The numerous wild plants 
of this variety found in Honduras produce what is 
called grana silvestre, or wild cochineal. The 23lains 
of Comayagua andEspino are admirably adapted, there- 
fore, for the cultivation of cochineal, as well as coffee, 
and all the other great staples of semi-tropical regions. 

DEPARTMENT OF GRACIAS. 

Districts. — Ocotepeque, Guarita, Erandique or Cor- 
quin, Gualalcha, Sensenti, Camarca, Intibucat, Gracias, 
Sta. Rosa, and Trinidad. 

Principal Towns. — Gracias, Sta. Rosa, Intibucat, 
Sensenti, Corquin, San Jose, Ocotepeque, Cololaca. 

The Department of Gracias lies in the northeastern 
angle of the state, touching upon Guatemala and San 
Salvador. Its territory is, in many respects, the most 
interesting in all Central America, of which it may be 
regarded as, in some degree, an epitome. In resj^ect to 
it we have more information than in regard to any of 
the others. This is due to Sehor Don Jose M. Cacho, 
present Secretary of State of Honduras, who, as Com- 
missioner of the Census of 1834 for this department, 
discharged his duties, considering all the difficulties of 
the case, in a very creditable manner. 

Its surface is much diversified, and it is distinguish- 
ed by several groups of majestic mountains. The 
Mountains of Selaque occupy very nearly the centre of 
the department ; and on the north it has the range of 
Merendon, which, as I have elsewhere said, extends 
from the borders of San Salvador to the Bay of Hon- 
duras, a distance of not far from one hundred and fifty 







'i4 ^ 




< 



< 



Chap. VIII.] department op gracias. 133 

miles. It is called by different names at different 
points, as Merendon, Gallinero, Grita, Espiritu Santo, 
and Omoa. No towns occur in these mountains, ex- 
cept the small village of Dolores Merendon. At its 
feet, upon the north, are several beautiful valleys, among 
Avhich is that of Copan, distinguished for its ancient 
monuments. Upon the south, nearly coinciding with 
the boundaries between this department and that of 
Comayagua, are the Mountains of Opalaca and Puca, 
both of commanding height. They extend to the north- 
eastward, nearly parallel to those of Omoa, until inter- 
cepted by the valley of the Rio Sta. Barbara. 

All of these mountains are heavily timbered with 
pines and oaks. Their lower slopes, and the valleys 
at their feet, produce the cedar, mahogany, and other 
valuable woods in great abundance. In the Mount- 
ains of Merendon is found the Quetzal^ the royal and 
sacred bird of the aboriginal kingdom of Quiche, and 
one of the most beautiful found in the world. 

Like all other parts of Honduras, this department 
is profusely watered. In it rise some of the largest 
streams of Central America. To the west of the 
Mountains of Merendon, and rising in its gorges, are 
the small rivers Gila and Gualan, which flow into 
the Motagua. Flowing along the eastern base of the 
same range is the Kio Chamelicon, which has its rise 
a few leagues to the northward of the town of Sta. 
Rosa. It forms a valley of great beauty and fertility, 
which, like that of Copan, abounds in monuments of a 
large aboriginal population. The river Santiago or 
Venta, which, after its junction with the Humuya, is 
called the Ulua, has its sources in the great plain of 
Sen sen ti, where it bears different names — Rio de la 
Valle, Alas, Higuito, and Talgua. Its first great trib- 



134 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 

utary in this department is the E-io Mejicote, or Gra- 
cias, flowing along the eastern base of the Mountains 
of Selaque. Below the point of junction, the Santiago 
is a large, unfordable stream. Along the southern bor- 
der of the department, and constituting the boundary 
separating it from San Salvador, is the River Sumpul, 
one of the largest affluents of the great river Lempa, 
flowing into the Pacific. It receives several considera- 
ble tributaries from the territories of this department. 
Among them may be mentioned the Guarajambala, 
Pirigual, Moscal, and Cololaca. 

Perhaps the most interesting topographical feature 
of this department is the plain or valley of Sensenti, 
lying between and almost encircled by the Mountains 
of Selaque, Pacaya, and Merendon. It is about thirty- 
five miles long by from five to fifteen in width. It is 
nearly divided by a range of hills, which extend par- 
tially across it in the neighborhood of Corquin. The 
upper valley might, with propriety, be called that of 
Sensenti, the lower one the plain of Cucuyagua. The 
latter has an average altitude of 2300 feet, and the 
former of 2800 feet above the sea. The soil through- 
out is good, and the climate delightfid. It constituted 
part of the dominions of the aboriginal cazique Lem- 
pira, who resisted the Spaniards longer than any chief 
in Central America. The army with w^hich he encoun- 
tered the Spanish general Chaves was more numerous 
than the present entire population of the department. 

The climate of the department is unexcelled for sa- 
lubrity. The general temperature, as might be inferred 
from the elevated character of the country, is cool, al- 
though no two places can, in this resj)ect, be said to be 
alike. Their climate varies with their elevation. In- 
tibucat, an Indian town, situated in the midst of a con- 



Chap. VIII.] department of gracias. 135 

siderable plain or terrace of the Opalaca Mountains, is 
5200 feet above the sea. Occasional slight falls of 
snow take place here during the months of December 
and January. I passed through the town in the early 
part of the month of July, when the thermometer at 
sunrise stood at 5G° of Fahrenheit. Peaches, apples, 
and plums flourish in this plain, and the blackberry is 
indigenous among the hills. The towns of Caiquin 
and Colocte have a temperature still lower than that 
of Intibucat. During three weeks which I spent at 
Sta. Rosa, from July 9 to August 1, the average tem- 
perature at sunrise was 68°, at noon 72°, and at 3 P.M. 
73° of Fahrenheit. From September to February the 
thermometer has a still lower range. 

The vegetable products of this department, actual 
and possible, exhaust the list of productions of the 
temperate zones and the tropics. Wheat, rye, barley, 
the j^otato, etc., grow on the mountains, while sugar- 
cane, indigo, tobacco, cotton, coffee, cacao, plantains, 
oranges, etc., flourish in the plains and valleys. Of 
valuable timber there is also great abundance. Pine, 
equal to the best North Carolina, covers the hills. 
There is also much mahogany, cedar, granadillo, Bra- 
zil Avood, mora, etc., for purposes of dyeing, manufac- 
ture, and construction. Copal, balsam, and liquid am- 
ber are among the most common gums. The tobacco 
of Gracias, as will be seen farther on, has a wide and 
deserved celebrity. 

. Apart from its agricultural wealth, Gracias is dis- 
tinguished for its minerals and precious metals. Gold 
and silver mines are numerous and rich, although but 
little worked, for want of scientific knowledge, intelli- 
gence, machinery, and capital. The silver and copper 
mines of Coloal, in the IMountains of Mcrendon, are 



136 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 

very valuable, the copper ores yielding 58 per cent, of 
copper, besides 98 ounces of silver to the ton. The 
silver ores of Sacramento yield 8674 ounces of silver 
to the ton. Coal is also found in the plain or valley 
of Sensenti, near the half-deserted town of Chucuyuco. 
I visited the beds at a place where they were cut 
through by ravines, and found the principal deposit 
from eight to ten feet thick, separated by bituminous 
shale from a superior bed about two feet in thickness. 
The coal is bituminous, and, at the outcrops, of fair 
quality. Asbestos, cinnabar, and platina are also found 
in this department. Opals are obtained at various 
localities, and have been exported to a considerable 
extent. The most and best have been found near the 
mountain town of Erandique. 

It appears from the official paper of Honduras that, 
from the 1st of April, 1851, to the 31st of January, 
1853, there were "denounced," or entered, in accord- 
ance with the mining laws, not less than sixteen opal 
mines in the single district of Erandique. In the de- 
partment at large, for the same j)eriod, were entered 
thirteen silver mines, one gold mine, and one coal mine. 
Amethysts are reported as having been found near 
Campuca. 

Near the little town of Virtud, in the extreme south- 
ern part of the department, is a curious natural phe- 
nomenon, known as Mina 6 Fuente de Sangre^ Mine or 
Fountain of Blood. * From the roof of a small cavern 

* " A little to the south of the town of Virtud is a small cavern (gnUa), which 
during the day is visited by the buzzards and gabilanes, and at night by a multitude 
of large bats (vampiros), for the purpose of feeding on the natural blood which is 
found here dropping from the roof of the cavern. This grot is on the borders of 
a rivulet, which it keeps reddened with a small flow of a liquid that has the color, 
smell, and taste of blood. In approaching the grot a disagreeable odor is observed, 
and when it is reached there may be seen some pools of the apparent blood in a 
state of coagulation. Dogs eat it eagerly. The late Don Rafael Osejo undertook 



Chap. VIII.] department of choluteca. 137 

there is constantly oozing and dropping a red liquid, 
which, upon falling, coagulates, so as precisely to resem- 
ble blood. Like blood, it corrupts ; insects deposit their 
larva3 in it, and dogs and buzzards resort to the cavern 
to eat it. In a country where there is so little scien- 
tific knowledge as in Central America, a phenomenon 
of this kind could not fail to be an object of great, if 
not superstitious wonder, and many marvelous stories 
are current concerning the Fountain of Blood, At- 
tempts have several times been made to obtain some of 
this liquid for the purpose of analysis, but in all cases 
without success, in consequence of its rapid decomposi- 
tion, whereby the bottles containing it were broken. 
By largely diluting it with water, I succeeded in bring- 
ing with me to the United States two bottles of the 
liquid, which I submitted to Professor B. Silliman, 
Junior, for examination. It had, however, undergone 
decomposition, and was very offensive. It had depos- 
ited a thick sediment, containing abundant traces of 
original organic matter. The peculiarities of the liquid 
are doubtless due to the rapid generation in this grotto 
of some very prolific species of colored infusoria. 

DEPARTMENT OF CHOLUTECA. 

Districts. — Nacaome, Amapala, Choluteca, Savana 
Grande, Texiguat, Cururen, Santa Anna. 

Principal Toivns. — Choluteca, Nacaome, Texiguat, 
Amapala, Langue, Pespiri, Savana Grande. 

Choluteca is the extreme southern department of 
Honduras, fronting on the Bay of Fonseca. It lies on 
the western slope of the Mountains of Lepaterique or 
Ule, among which the streams that water it take their 

to send some bottles of this liquid to London for analysis, but it corrupted within 
twenty-four hours, bursting the bottles." — Gacela de Honduras. Fcbruaiy 20, 1853. 



138 KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 

rise. It is, consequently, extremely diversified in sur- 
face. The valleys of the rivers Choluteca and Na- 
caome are broad and fertile, and the district fronting 
on the bay is distinguished for its extensive savannas 
and densely-wooded alluvions. For an average dis- 
tance of fifteen miles inland, the soil is admirably adapt- 
ed for plantations, and undoubtedly capable of produc- 
ing in profusion all the staples of the tropics. As the 
country rises, which it does by a series of terraces, the 
savannas become broader and more numerous, affording 
vast 23astures for herds of cattle, which at present prob- 
ably constitute the chief wealth of the department. 

The Mountains of Ule, or Lepaterique, which bound 
the department on the north, are not less than 5280 feet 
in height at the j^oint where they are crossed by the 
high road from Nacaome to Tegucigalpa. Their sum- 
mits are broad, undulating plains, cool, salubrious, and 
fertile, and literally constitute the granaries of the ad- 
jacent mineral districts. Wheat, potatoes, and espe- 
cially maize, have there a vigorous and most productive 
growth. Hail, and occasionally snow, falls there, and 
in a few instances it has been known to fall in sufiicient 
quantities to whiten the ground for several days. From 
the summits of the Ule Mountains the eye takes in a 
landscape more than a hundred miles broad, from the 
great blue masses of the Mountains of Sulaco on the 
north, to the volcanoes of Nicaragua and the Gulf of 
Fonseca on the south and southeast. 

From these mountains the traveler also obtains a 
fine view of the valley of Choluteca, which sweeps in 
luxuriant beauty around its base, the course of its riv- 
er being clearly defined by the belts of evergreen for- 
ests which grow upon its banks. This view is obtain- 
ed through the broad, dependent valley of Yuguare, 



Chap. VIII.] department of choluteca. 139 

celebrated, even in Honduras, for its surpassing beauty 
and exhaustless resources. In this valley are several 
considerable Indian towns, whose inhabitants are dis- 
tinguished alike for their industry, bravery, and repub- 
lican spirit. Those of Texiguat and of Cururen ob- 
tained great distinction in the wars which preceded the 
dissolution of the republic of Central America, and are 
now among the most loyal and faithful citizens of the 
state, and its bravest defenders. 

Apart from its agricultural wealth, the Department 
of Choluteca is rich in minerals, but chiefly in mines 
of silver. Amons^ the latter is the famous mine of 
Corpus, near Choluteca, which, under the crown, was 
regarded of so much importance as to induce the Au- 
diencia to establish a branch of the treasury there, in 
order to receive the royal fifths. It is now worked in 
a very small way, the shafts having been filled with 
water, and the adits obstructed with fallen rock. The 
mines of Cuj^al and San Martyn, also found in this de- 
partment, are now Avorked profitably on a small scale. 
Their value is much enhanced by their proximity to 
the Gulf of Fonseca, through which the requisite ma- 
chinery can be brought within reach. Mills have re- 
cently been established on the island of Tigre for saw- 
ing the cedar, mahogan}-, and other valuable woods 
which are found in great abundance on the coast, for 
exportation to Chili, Peru, and California. 

The islands of Tisrre and Sacate Grande, which have 
already been noticed (see p. 96), as also the free port 
of Amapala, fall within the jurisdiction of thife depart- 
ment. Choluteca, which has a population of about 
four thousand souls, is nominally the capital, but the 
seat of administration has for a number of years been 
at Nacaome. This town is situated on the river of the 



140 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [CliAP. VIII. 

same name, about eight miles above its mouth, and has 
a population of about two thousand inhabitants. A 
few leagues above, on the same stream, is the consider- 
able town of Pespiri. In the vicinity of Nacaome, at 
a place called " Aguas Calientes," there are several hot 
springs, much esteemed for their medicinal properties. 

DEPARTMENT OF TEGUCIGALPA. 

Principal Toivns. — Tegucigalpa, Yuscuran, Cedros, 
San Antonio Mineral, Yuguare, Agalteca. 

The Department of Tegucigalpa is the smallest, but 
relatively the most populous of the political divisions 
of Hondm-as. It may be described as occupying a great 
interior basin or plateau, bounded on the north and 
west by the Mountains of Sulaco and Comayagua, and 
the south and east by those of Ule and Chili. The 
average elevation of this mountain-bound plateau is 
not less than three thousand feet above the sea. It is 
drained by the River Choluteca, which nearly describes 
a circle in tracing its course among the mountains, 
through which it breaks by a deep and narrow gorge 
or valley into the broad and rich plains of the Pacific 
coast. 

The temperature of the department is cool, and its 
climate can not be surpassed for salubrity. Its soil is 
not generally so productive as that of the remaining 
departments, but it excels them all in the number and 
value of its mines. It is, in fact, essentially a mining 
district ; and, until the political disturbances of the 
country rendered the prosecution of that branch of in- 
dustry almost impossible, mining was the chief employ- 
ment of its people,, and their principal source of wealth. 
The mines of Yuscuran are still worked, as are also 
those of San Antonio and Santa Lucia. The 2fold and 



> 



' -s««^«**^^y; 




City of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, 





Plaza of Tegucigalpa. 



;J^'^o^4PS. sc> 



Chap. VIII.] department of Tegucigalpa. 143 

silver mines of San Juan Cantaranas are second to 
none in the state in value, but they are not largely 
worked, for precisely the reason which is most likely 
hereafter to commend them to American and European 
enterprise. The natives can not be induced to estab- 
lish themselves in their vicinity, on account of the cold- 
ness of the climate. The Mountain of Agalteca, in the 
northwest 2")ortion of this department, is a vast mass 
of very pure and highly magnetic iron ore. Some of 
the ore has so large a per centage of metal, that it is 
forged directly from the mine, Avithout undergoing the 
previous process of smelting. 

Since the decline of the mining interest, the proprie- 
tors of this dejDartment have engaged largely in the 
raismg of cattle, many of which are driven to San Sal- 
vador and Nicarao;ua for sale. 

Tegucigalpa, the capital of the department, is the 
largest and finest city in the state, numbering not less 
than twelve thousand inhabitants. It stands on the 
right bank of the Rio Choluteca, in an amphitheatre 
amonoc the hills, and is substantiallv and reo;ularly built. 
It has not less than six large churches. The Parroquia 
is hardly second to the Cathedral of Comayagua in 
size. A fine stone bridge, of ten arches, spans the river, 
and connects the city with the suburb called Comaya- 
guita. It had formerly several convents and a Uni- 
versity, the last of which has still a nominal existence. 
It has also a mint, but it is now only used for the coin- 
ing of the copper or provisional currency, which circu- 
lates in the central departments at a gi'eatly depre- 
ciated value. The trade of Tegucigaljia was formerl}- 
carried on through the j)orts of Omoa and Truxillo, 
but, since the establishment of the free port of Ama- 
pala, it has chiefly taken that direction. 



144 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 

DEPARTMENT OF OLANCHO. 

Principal Toums. — Juticalpa, Catacamas, Campami- 
ento, Silca, Monte Rosa, Yocon, Laguata, Danli, Teu- 
pac. 

The Department of Olancho joins tliat of Tegucigal- 
pa on the east. It has an area of not less than 11,300 
miles, or something more than that of the State of 
Marjdand. But a small portion of this wide district 
is inhabited by a civilized population, the greater part, 
comprising the entire eastern half, being in the posses- 
sion of Indian tribes, known as Xicaques, Payas, Pan- 
tasmas, and Toacas. The Spanish settlements are al- 
most entirely confined to the large interior plateau, gen- 
erally called Valley of Olancho, in which the great riv- 
er Patuca, and the hardly less important streams known 
as Pio Tinto and Poman or Aguan, take their rise. 
This valley is represented as undulating, fertile, and 
chiefly covered with luxuriant savannas, supporting 
vast herds of ca,ttle, which constitute the chief wealth 
of the people. In this resjDect, indeed, Olancho is dis- 
tinguished above any other equal extent of Central, or 
perhaps of Spanish America. 

From its elevation and the proximity of the mount- 
ains, Olancho has a cool and healthful climate. Its 
people are industrious, and live in the possession of all 
of the necessaries and many of the luxuries of life. 
From their geographical position, away from the cen- 
tres of political commotion, they have enjoyed compar- 
ative quiet during all the disturbances to which the 
country at large has been subjected. This circumstance 
has been favorable to the accumulation of property, and 
the department is therefore relatively the richest in the 
state. 



Chap. VIII.] department of olancho. 145 

Its exj^orts are cattle, hides, deer-skins, sarsaparilla, 
tobacco, and bullion, which are chiefly taken to Omoa 
and Truxillo ; a jjortion, nevertheless, goes, by the way 
of Tegucigalpa, to the Gulf of Fonseca. Next to its 
herds of cattle, its principal sources of wealth are its 
gold-washings. Nearly all the streams in the depart- 
ment carrj' gold of a fine quality in then- sands. These 
washings were distinguished for their richness at the 
time of the conquest, and have ever since maintained 
a local celebrity. But the jealous policy of Spain was 
effectively directed to the suppression of all knowledge 
of the wealth and resources of these countries, and their 
condition since the independence has been unfavorable 
to their development. There can, however, be but lit- 
tle doubt that the gold-washings of the rivers GaavaiX! 
and Mangualil, and their tributaries, are equal in value 
to those of California, and must soon come to attract 
a large share of attention both in the United States and 
in Europe. At present the washings are only carried 
on by the Indian women, who devote a few hours on 
Sunday mornings to the work, living for the remainder 
of the week upon the results. A farther notice of the 
mineral wealth of this department will be found in the 
chapter on mines and minerals. 

Juticalpa, capital of the department, ranks third in 
the state in respect of size. It is delightfully situated 
on a small tributary of the Guayape, not far from the 
principal stream, and is reputed to contain 10,000 in- 
habitants. Near it is the large Indian town of Cata- 
camas, and there are other considerable towns of In- 
dians scattered throughout the valley. These Indians 
are proverbial for their peaceful disposition and indus- 
trious habits. 

The communication between the vallev of Olancho 

K 



146 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIII. 

and the coast is chiefly carried on by innles, through 
the valley of the River Aguan, to Truxillo. A road 
was formerly opened through the valley of the Rio 
Tinto, but it was rough and difficult, and soon aban- 
doned. There exists a much easier means of commu- 
nication by way of the Rio Patuca, which is navigable 
as far as the Puerto de Delon, within a few leagues of 
Juticalpa. But the absence of a good port, as well as 
of commercial establishments at the mouth of the river, 
has rendered this natural highway of but little value. 
It is now chiefly used in floating down mahogany, 
which grows in large quantities on its banks. But 
even this trade is embarrassed by the difficulty of load- 
ing the wood in the open roadstead ofl" the bar of the 
river. How far the Wanks River may ultimately be 
made useful to the trade of this department and that 
of Segovia, in Nicaragua, can only be ascertained by a 
survey of that stream, the capacities of which are now 
but little known. 

DEPARTMENT OF YORO. 

Principal Towns. — Yoro, Olanchito, Truxillo, Ne- 
grito, Jocon, and Sonaguera. 

The Department of Yoro comprehends all the north- 
ern part of Honduras lying eastward of the River 
Ulua. Its area is upward of 15,000 square miles — 
equal to the three states of Massachusetts, Connecticut, 
and Rhode Island ; but, while the largest department 
in size, it is the smallest in respect of population. Its 
surface is exceedingly diversified. It is made up of a 
series of valleys, formed by the numerous streams which 
flow down from the interior into the Bay of Hon- 
duras. These have a direction from south to north, 
and, except on the very shores of the bay, where the 



Chap. VIII.] department of yoro. 147 

country is plain and alluvial, are separated from each 
other by a corresponding number of ridges, or mount- 
ain spurs or ranges, of various elevations. Communi- 
cation transversely to these valleys and mountain 
ridges is exceedingly ditiicult, and the population of 
the department, therefore, has been chiefly concentrated 
in the valleys of those larger streams which have ports 
near their mouths, and through which pass the roads 
leading from the interior to the coast. 

The Mountains of Pija and Sulaco rise in the west- 
ern 2^art of this department, and form the eastern 
boundaries of the valleys of the Sulaco and Ulua Kiv- 
ers. They are terraced and truncated, constituting 
elevated savannas, sparsely covered with pines ; but 
their soil is comparatively poor, and they have conse- 
quently failed to attract population from the more fa- 
vored portions of the state. Tradition points to them 
as containing great mineral wealth, but they have never 
been adequately explored, and nothing can be affii-med 
in this respect with any degree of certainty. 

The valleys of all the streams abound in precious 
woods, and the department may be described as com- 
prising the great mahogany district of Central Amer- 
ica. There are "corses," or cuttings, on nearly all the 
streams which from their size admit of the wood being 
floated down to the coast. The inhabitants are chiefl}' 
mahogany-cutters by occupation, having their tempo- 
rary residences at the various '■'■ coi^tes''' during the sea- 
son of cutting, and retu-ing to their homes and planta- 
tions when it is ended. 

On the upper waters of the streams, and among the 
mountains and hills which intervene between the coast 
and the valley of Olancho, are found the remnants of 
the once famous and indomitable nation of Xicaque In- 



148 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. YIII. 

dians. Their numbers are not- known, but are esti- 
mated at not far from seven thousand. They are peace- 
ful and inoffensive, and traffic freely with the Span- 
iards, collecting sarsaparilla, India-rubber, and skins, 
for the purpose of exchange for such few articles of 
civilized manufacture as they may require.* 

The greater portion of the great plain of Sula, de- 
scribed below, falls within this department. To the 
eastward of this plain, and, in fact, constituting an ex- 
tension of it, is a vast tract of rich and valuable terri- 
tory, known as Costa de Lean. It has equal capacities 
with the plain of Sula for agricultural purposes, and 
in this respect holds out inducements inferior to no oth- 
er part of Central America or the West Indies. The 
proximity of the mountains, absence of marshes, abund- 
ance of good water, and exposure to the sea-breezes, are 
circumstances favorable to its salubrity, and must have 
an influence in directing to it the attention of emigrants 
and planters. The valleys of Sonaguera and Olan- 
chito may also be mentioned as equally remarkable for 
their beauty, fertility, and general resources. 

Yoro, a town of about three thousand inhabitants, is 
the capital of this department. Truxillo, already de- 
scribed (p. 102), is its principal seaport. 

DEPARTMENT OF SANTA BARBARA. 

Districts. — Omoa, Sta. Barbara, Yojoa, San Pedro. 

Principal Toiuns. — Sta. Barbara, Yojoa, Omoa, San 
Pedro Sula, Quimistan. 

This department lies to the northward of Gracias and 
Comayagua, and intervenes between these departments 

* A large number of Carib Indians, emigrants from the island of San Vincent, 
are also established in this department ; but, as a full account of them has been 
given elsewhere, it is unnecessary to speak of them in this connection 



Chap. VIII.] department of sta. Barbara. 149 

and the Bay of Honduras. It is traversed by several 
large streams. The Ulua runs through it from south 
to north, and the Blanco, Santiago, Sta. Barbara, and 
Chamelicon also flow through it in other directions. 
The valleys of these rivers afford large tracts of level 
and fertile lands, well wooded, and capable of vast pro- 
duction. 

The gTeat plain of Sula, which may be said to com- 
mence at Yojoa, is a distinguishing feature of this de- 
partment. It is not only of great extent, but of un- 
bounded capacity. The early accounts of the country 
represent it to have been densely populated by the ab- 
origines. It is now mostly covered hj a hea\y forest, 
relieved only by a few narrow patches of cultivated 
gTounds in the vicinity of the towns which are scatter- 
ed alono- the camino real. This forest abounds in val- 
uable woods, and from it a greater part of the mahog- 
any exported from Honduras has been derived. The 
Chamelicon and Ulua are the natural channels through 
which the mahogany has been, and still is, carried to 
the sea-side. That portion of the plain of Sula lying 
to the eastward of the Hiver Ulua is included in the 
Department of Yoro. Taking it as a whole, it may be 
estunated as having a base of sixty or seventy miles on 
the Bay of Honduras, reaching inland, in the form of 
a triangle, to Yojoa, a distance of upward of fifty miles, 
and comprising an area of not less than fifteen hundred 
square miles. In the future development of the coun- 
try, this plain will attract the first attention, not less on 
account of its valualjle natural products, than its easy 
access through good ports, its navigable rivers, and rich 
and easily-cultivated soil, adapted to the production of 
cotton, rice, sugar, cacao, and the other great staples 
of the tropics. A ^'ariety of the cacao, called cacao 



150 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. VIII. 

mico^ and said to be equal, if not superior, to the cele- 
brated cacao of Nicaragua and Soconusco, is indigen- 
ous here, and the inhabitants draw their su]3ply from 
the wild trees in the forest. The vanilla and sarsa- 
jjarilla are also abundant. Copal-trees, India-rubber, 
rosewood, dragon's-blood, and other useful trees and 
precious woods, are found in profusion, and will ulti- 
mately contribute to swell the exports and augment 
the wealth of the state. Vast numbers of palms, of 
every variety, relieve the monotony of the forest with 
then* graceful forms. At one point on the banks of 
the Ulua, a few leagues above its mouth, is a natural 
park of the cocoanut-palm, which extends along the 
river for several miles. 

In the neighborhood of Yojoa the country rises by 
a series of magnificent terraces, which open out in 
broad, undulating savannas. Their soil is good, and, 
apart from their natural adaptation for grazing pur- 
poses, they admit of profitable cultivation. These ter- 
races are represented as constituting the distinguishing 
features of the country around the city of Santa Bar- 
bara, where the principal part of the population of the 
department is concentrated. 

The great dependent mountain chain of Merendon, 
elsewhere alluded to as dividing the valleys of the 
Chamelicon and Motagua, and terminating abruptly 
on the sea at Omoa, affords, on its slopes, favorable 
conditions, both of soil and climate, for the cultivation 
of the grains and fruits of higher latitudes. It more- 
over seems to be rich in gold, which is found, more or 
less abundantly, in all the streams which flow down 
its southern declivity. In the neighborhood of Qui- 
mistan there are washing's which have Ions: been cele- 
brated for their productiveness. In that portion of 



Chap. VIII.] department of sta. Barbara. 151 

this chain back of Omoa, and overlooking the plain of 
Sula, are vast beds of white marble of spotless purity, 
fine, compact, and susceptible of exquisite finish. It 
more closely resembles the marbles of Carrara in Italy 
than any of those found in the United States. It is 
easy of access, and may be obtained in any desirable 
quantity. 

The fine, capacious harbor of Puerto Caballos, and 
the small but secure port of Omoa, both fall in this de- 
partment. They are fully described under the subdi- 
vision of "Ports of Hondm-as." 

The inhabitants of this department are chiefly de- 
voted to the raising of cattle, of which large numbers 
are exported to Belize and Yucatan, and driven into 
Guatemala, where they command prices ranging from 
five to ten dollars per head. A large part of the peo- 
ple in the towns in the plain of Sula, or bordering upon 
it, are employed in the mahogany cuttings, while a few, 
chiefly Indians, collect sarsaparilla, or occupy them- 
selves, at intervals, in washing gold. Altogether, the 
department is healthy, and possessed of vast resources, 
the value of which is enhanced by the natural facili- 
ties which it possesses, both in respect of geographical 
position and the means of interior communication. 



152 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IX. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ASPECTS OF NATURE IN /HONDURAS. 

npHE aspects of nature in Honduras are varied and 
striking. The conditions of conformation of coast, 
of elevation and consequent temperature, the amount 
of rain falling upon the respective declivities of the 
Cordilleras, all contribute to diversify the forms under 
which vegetable life presents itself to the eye of the 
traveler. The three gi'eat features, nevertheless, are 
the coast alluvions, generally densely wooded, the ele- 
vated valleys of the interior, spreading out in broad 
savannas, and the high plateaus of the mountains, sus- 
taining an unending forest of scattered pines, relieved 
by occasional clumps of oak. 

Upon the northern coast, in the broad plain through 
which the Ulua and Chamelicon find their way to the 
sea, the country is so low as occasionally to be over- 
flowed for considerable distances. Here grow immense 
forests of cedar, mahogany, ceiba, India-rubber, and 
other large and valuable trees, thickly interspersed with 
palms, whose plumes rise through every opening, and 
fringe the bases of all the hills. The smaller streams 
are arched over with verdure, and completely shut out 
from the sun, while the large rivers gleam like silver 
bands in fields of unbroken emerald. But even here, 
where the land is lowest, spread out broad, grassy 
meadows, the retreats of innumerable wild-fowl, and 
during the dry season, when the grass on the hills be- 
comes sere and withered, offering abundant support for 



Chap. IX.] aspects of nature. 153 

herds of cattle. In the depths of these primeval for- 
ests the mahogany-cutters prosecute their laborious 
calling, rousing the echoes with the ringing strokes of 
the axe and the shouts of the truckmen, who, with 
twenty oxen attached to a single log, drag the heavy 
trunks to the edges of the rivers. The broad meadows 
supply them with food for their cattle, while every com- 
pany has its hunter and fisher to help out the fixed 
rations with which it is provided by the proprietors of 
the establishments. 

Farther to the eastward, on the same coast, the heavy 
forests are confined chiefly to the valleys proper of the 
rivers, and give place, at little distances inland, to sandy 
savannas, covered with coarse grass, and clumps of 
pines and acacias. But the plain country of the coast 
is every where narrow. The spurs or dependent ridges 
of the mountain groups of the interior often come down 
to the very shore. Immediately back of Omoa, with- 
in cannon-shot of its fortress, the mountains begin to 
rise abruptly, and speedily attain the height of nine 
■ thousand feet, looking down majestically upon their 
shadows in the clear waters of the beautiful Bay of 
Amatique. Such also is the case at the port of Trux- 
illo. The peaks of Congi^ehoy, and the Mountains of 
the Holy Cross or Poyas, form gigantic landmarks for 
the mariner in his approach to the coast of Honduras. 

The alluvions of the Pacific coast are also densely 
wooded, but not extensive. At short distances inland 
they give place to numerous savannas and jicarcdes, 
in which the low calabash-tree, with its fruit resem- 
bling the ap2:)le, conveys to the traveler the idea of a 
New England orchard. These savannas are studded 
with clumps of acacias- (gum-arabic bushes), and cover- 
ed with gTass; but the pine docs not appear on this 



154 REPUBLIC OF PIONDURAS. [ChAP. IX. 

side of the continent, except upon the slopes of the 
hills at an altitude of about twelve hundred feet. 

The valleys of all the rivers, on both coasts, are 
heavily wooded, and covered with lianes or vines ; but 
as they are ascended toward the interior, vegetation di- 
minishes, and is reduced to a narrow fringe of trees and 
bushes upon their immediate banks. These valleys, 
in the high interior country, often expand into broad 
and beautiful plains, half savanna, half woodland, the 
common grounds where the products of the tropics and 
of the temperate zone, the palm and the pine, flourish 
side by side. Such are the plains of Espino and Co- 
mayagua on the Humuya, of Otoro on the Sta. Bar- 
bara, Sensenti on the Ulua, La Florida on the Chame- 
licon, Olancho on the Aguan, and Yuguare on the Cho- 
luteca. In some of these, as in that of Comayagua, 
the variant forms of cactus become distinguishing fea- 
tures, frequently attaining to gigantic size, and al- 
most taking the character of forests. Here they stud 
the ground, spherical and spinated, warning man and 
beast against incautious tread, yet radiating from their 
gTooved sides flowers and fruits of delicate ruby, in 
shape and color like glasses of tenderest crystal, flow- 
ing over with ruddy wine of golden Burgundy. There 
they rise in tall, fluted columns, appearing in the exag- 
gerating twilight like the ruins of ancient temples. 
And still beyond we see them, articulated and jointed, 
spreading their broad succulent palms, silvered with the 
silky habiliments of the scarlet cochineal, as if in im- 
ploration to the sun. And yet again, lavish of con- 
trasting forms, they trail like serpents over the ground, 
and twine themselves in knotty coils around fallen 
trunks and among the crevices of the barren rocks. 
Here, too, the agave appears, with its dense green clus- 



Chap. IX.] aspects of nature. 155 

ter of spinynedged leaves, shooting up its tall stem, to 
flower but once, scatter forth its thousand bulbs, and 
then to die. 

The mountains which rise around these valleys are 
ascended by terraces, crowned with forests of pines and 
oaks, and carpeted with gTass. The summits of the 
mountains sometimes run up in peaks, but generally 
constitute broad table-lands, more or less undulating, 
and often spreading out in rolling savannas, traversed 
with \o^Y ridges of verdure, and green belts of trees, 
which di'oop over streams as bright and cool as those 
of New England. Here the familiar blackberry is in- 
digenous, and the bushes which impede the traveler 
are covered with fruit. Wheat-fields, billowing beneath 
the cool mountain winds, and orchards of peach and 
apple trees, struggling against man s neglect, give to 
these districts all the asj^ects of the temperate zone ; 
and when, at night, bright fires of the pine illuminate 
every hut, and the picturesque inhabitants cluster 
around them to receive the warmth which the temper- 
ature here renders necessary to comfort, the stranger 
can scarcely appreciate that he is under the trojDics, and 
within fourteen degrees of the line. The contrast which 
his experiences of to-day afford with those of yester- 
day, when he rode among groves of palms, plantains, 
and oranges, become still more decided when the cold, 
sleety rain descends from leaden skies, or the sharp hail 
falls from tumultuous clouds, SAvept over his head by 
blasts as chill and pinching as those of a northern No- 
vember. 

But whether in plain, in valley, or on mountain, 
every where the trees are covered with parasitic plants. 
Some varieties of cactus, particularly that of which the 
long, tangled arms are prismatic in form, do not dis- 



156 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IX. 

dain to fix themselves in the forks of the calabash-tree, 
and overwhehn it with their own more rapid growth. 
So abundant are these air-plants, that it is sometimes 
difficult to discover the verdure of the tree to which 
they are attached. Some are delicate as threads of 
silk, and others coarse and rank, but all of wax-like 
beauty, and many producing flowers of brilliant colors. 
Science would exhaust its nomenclature in distino;uish- 
ing them, and the traveler is happy to think of them 
as yet unburdened with the portentous designations of 
studious Dryasdusts, to whom nature was not given as 
" a joy forever,"" but a thing to be classified, and named, 
and mummified in Greek and Latin cerements. 

Upon the higher mountain crests, where the short 
and hardy grass betokens a temperature too low for 
luxuriant vegetation of any kind, the air-plants them- 
selves disaj^pear, and the pines and gnarled oaks 
are draped in a sober mantle of long gray moss, 
which waves mournfully in the wind, like frayed and 
dusty banners from the walls of old cathedrals. The 
rocks themselves are browned with mosses, and, except 
the bright springs gushing from beneath them and 
trickling away with a silvery murmur, there is no 
sound to break the eternal silence. The traveler sees, 
perhaps, a dark shadow sweep over his path ; it is 
that of the eagle or of the voiceless raven, poising in 
the sky. Upon some distant rock his eye catches a 
slight and graceful figure ; there is a sudden but noise- 
less bound, and the antelope of the mountain has dis- 
appeared. 

The geological features of Honduras are equally 
marked and impressive. Starting from the Gulf of 
Fonseca and advancing northward, we leave behind us 
the volcanic coast-range, with its high, grassy peaks of 



Chap. IX.] aspects of nature. 157 

scoria}, and reach at once vast masses of white and 
rose-colored rock, the outliers of the great sandstone 
nucleus of the central plateaus. Viewed from a dis- 
tance, they appear like cliifs of trap or basalt, and take 
a thousand castellated forms with the changing posi- 
tions of the traveler. Among these we find occasional 
beds of blue limestone, and ribs of quartz and greenstone 
are here and there boldly protruded through the su- 
perincumbent rocks, richly veined with ores of silver 
and of gold. 

As we pi'oceed farther inland, the mountains rise by 
a succession of terraces, deeply furrowed by streams 
descending to the sea. These terraces prove to be a 
succession of vast stratified sandstone deposits or beds, 
presenting abrupt edges, up which the sure-footed mule 
toils painfully and with difficulty. But when the as- 
cent is accomplished, the traveler finds spread out be- 
fore him extensive savannas, interspersed with gi'oves 
of pines, and clumps of oaks and bushes. Often the 
layer of soil is thin, and a scant vegetation strives in 
vain to divest nature of its savage aspect. The rocks, 
exposed and bare, reflect the light of the sun, which 
shines down through the clear and rarefied atmosphere 
of these elevated reo;ions with a blindino- o-lare. The 
weary traveler looks forward with aching eyes, tracing 
the white line of the solitary path across the arid plain, 
and urges on his faithful mule, in the hope of finding 
some narrow valley, worn in the rock by mountain 
streams, where he may form his lonely camp for the 
night, in the pleasant company of living trees and run- 
ning waters. 

Suddenly the plateau along which he is journeying 
breaks away in a few rapid terraces, and reveals, almost 
beneath his feet, a wide and level plain, mottled with 



I 



158 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. IX. 

savanna and forest, threaded with bright streams, and 
dotted with villages, whose white churches catch the 
light like points of silver in the landscape. It seems 
but a little distance there : a stone thrown from the 
hand might fall in the square plaza, so distinctly de- 
fined, of the first village ; but hour after hour the trav- 
eler toils downward, and night falls, and he sees the 
gleaming of lights in the valley before the familiar 
barking of dogs and the instinctive accelerated pace of 
his mule apprise him that at last he has reached the 
level ground. 

In the western part of Honduras, among the mount- 
ains of Corquin, the outline of the country is exceed- 
ingly bold and diversified. The rivers, collecting their 
waters in interior basins, break through the porphy- 
ritic mountains and hills which surround them in deep 
valleys or gorges, with steep and precipitous sides. 
Yet in these fissures, whose bottoms are only reached 
by dangerous zigzag paths, are found strips of alluvial 
soil, where the Indian builds his hut, and the necessary 
plantain has a luxuriant growth, beneath high and 
frowning cliffs, bristling with peaks, like gigantic sen- 
tinels, along their rocky ramparts. 

A greater variety of trees and abundance of verdure 
cover the hills and mountains of the northern coast, 
which have, in consequence, a less rugged aspect than 
those on the Pacific declivity, where the rains are not 
so constant. The hills are more swelling, and the 
mountains, though equally elevated, have a softer and 
more harmonious outline. They present few clifis or 
rocky crests, and in their denser forests afibrd more con- 
genial retreats to the multitudinous forms of animal 
life whic]i are nurtured in the genial tropics. 

Birds of brilliant plumage sparkle in the foliage of 



Chap. IX.] aspects of nature. 159 

the trees, and crowds of monkeys troop among their 
branches. The tapir, the peccary, and the ant-eater 
live in their shade, and the puma and the cougar lurk 
in their recesses. Here, too, are found the boa, the 
bright corral, and the deadly tamagas. The vanilla 
hangs in festoons from the limbs, and the sarsaparilla 
veins the earth vdih its heahno- root. And while sil- 

o 

ver, imprisoned in flinty quartz or crumbling green- 
stone, tempts men to labor with the promise of rich re- 
ward on the other slope of the continent, here gold glit- 
ters in the sands of almost every stream. 

It is thus that Nature, lavish of her gifts, has com- 
prised within the comparatively narrow limits of Hon- 
duras a variety of scenery, as well as of climate and 
production, unsurpassed by any equal portion of the 
earth. Upon the coasts she robes herself in luxuri- 
ance, draped in vines, crowned with flowers, and her 
breath is fragrant with aromatic gums, while the sea 
kisses her feet with its frothy lips. But among the 
mountains, in sober, monastic robes, she is no longer 
the productive mother. The mnd lifts the gray hair 
on her serene brow; but even here her lips, though 
motionless, still utter a language of lofty and holy im- 
port to the sensitive ears of her true votaries. 



160 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. * [ChAP. X. 



CHAPTER X. 

MINES AND MINERALS. 

XN respect of mineral resources, Honduras ranks first 
^ among all tlie states of Central America. Indeed, 
the mineral wealth of the country at large seems chiefly 
confined to that system or cluster of mountains which 
constitutes what may be called the plateau of Hon- 
duras. Nueva Segovia and Chontales, the mineral dis- 
tricts of Nicaragua, naturally belong to this mountain 
system ; and the same is true of the mineral district 
of the Department of San Miguel in San Salvador, 
which embraces the only mines found in that state. 
There are a few mines of gold and silver in Guatemala 
and Costa Rica, but,- as compared with those of Hon- 
dm-as, they are insignificant in number and value. '^' 

Mining has indeed been always, and until recently, 
the predominant interest in Honduras ; but no branch 
of industry sufifers so directly from wars and civil dis- 
sensions, such as have agitated Central America for the 
last thirty years. As a consequence, mine after mine 
has been abandoned, and the works once fallen into 
decay, there has been neither the enterprise, capital, or 
intelligence necessary to restore them. The mining 
districts are istudded with decayed mining villageg, 

* " El estado de Honduras es el mas rico en puntos minerales ; alii esta el famoso 
del Corpus, que en otros tiempos produjo tanto oro, que se establecio en el una 
tesoreria para solo el cobro del derecho de quintos ; el departamiento de Olancho 
en el misra^ estado posee el rio Guayape, de cuyas arenas se saca, sin beneficio, 
el oro mas apreciable." — Montcfur, Centra- America, xxiii. 



Chap. X.] mines and minerals. 161 

whose proprietors have become hacienderos^ OAvners of 
immense grazing estates, on which their former labor- 
ers are now employed as herdsmen. A few establish- 
ments are still kept up, but the operations are conduct- 
ed on a very small scale and in a very rude manner, 
and affoi'd a very imperfect indication of the capabili- 
ties of the mines. 

Few of the mines were ever opened in conformity 
with any well-established or intelligent system, nor witli 
any reference to continuous or extended operations. 
Without adits or machinery for draining, the only 
means of removing the water which invaded many of 
the richest were leathern buckets carried on the backs 
of men, in which manner also the ore was brought up 
from shafts so narrow as rarely to allow more than one 
man to work in breaking out the ore. When obtain- 
ed, it was frequently crushed by heavy stones, beveled 
on their lower edge, and vibrated backward and forward 
by men, or else slowly reduced by the rudest and most 
cumbersome machinery, driven generally by oxen or 
mules, but occasionally by Avater. In the latter case 
the apj^aratus consisted of a vertical shaft (driven by a 
wheel moving horizontally), through which passed an 
arm, having at each end heavy stones attached by chains, 
which were thus dragged over the ore, in a basin of 
masonry, until it Avas reduced sufficiently for amalga- 
mation. This last operation was performed by placing 
the amalgam in heaps in a ^'■jkUio,'''' or yard, upon a 
floor of boards, Avhcre it remained for sev^eral weeks, 
until the amalgamation became complete, Avhen the 
mass Av as Avashed in troughs, and the result reduced 
by fire. 

But, even under all these difficulties, and rude and 
expensive processes, mining in Honduras, as I have 

L 



162 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. X. 

said, was formerly carried on extensively and profita- 
bly. The mines were seldom worked to any great 
depth, and their proprietors were often obliged to aban- 
don most of them before they had been carried to the 
depths where the richest ores are generally found. 
Others were given up from lack of knowledge of treat- 
ing the ores ; and still others from the lack of roads 
whereon the ores could be transported to the mills. 

There are hundreds of mines scattered over the coun- 
try, abandoned and filled with water, most, if not all 
of which could be profitably worked by the application 
of j)roper machinery. But as there are now no roads 
over which machinery can be transported, many of them 
must await the general development of the country to 
become of value. The rough and narrow mule-paths 
in the neighborhood of the ports on both oceans are 
lined with fragments of heavy and expensive machin- 
ery, which men more enterprising than prudent have 
vainly essayed to introduce into the country. They are 
enduring monuments of that blind energy which neg- 
lects necessary means in its eagerness to attain desira- 
ble ends. 

Silver ores are most abundant and valuable of any 
which exist in the state. They are chiefly found upon 
the Pacific ranges or groups of mountains, while the 
gold- washings, if not the gold mines proper, are most 
numerous on the Atlantic slope. The silver is found 
in various combinations, with iron, lead, copper, and, 
in a few instances, with antimony. Chlorides of silver 
are not uncommon, and rank among the richest ores in 
the country. 

The group of silver mines in the neighborhood of 
Ocotal in Segovia (Nicaragua) enjoy a high celebrity, 
and are undoubtedly of great value. They yield their 



Chap. X.] mines and minerals. 163 

silver in the forms of sulphurets, bromides, and chlo- 
rides. Some of the mines give an argentiferous sul- 
phm^et of antimony. The mine of Limon, in the vicin- 
ity of Ocotal, formerly yielded large quantities of chlo- 
ride of silver, but is now unworked for want of requi- 
site machinery to keep it free from water. The ores 
of this district yield variously from 28 to 727 ounces 
of silver per every ton of 2000 lbs. or 32,000 ounces. 

The mineral district of Yuscuran, in the Department 
of Tegucigalpa, has a high and deserved reputation for 
the number of its mines and the value of its ores. 
These are, for the most part, an argentiferous galena, 
and, when worked, yield from 63 to 1410 ounces per 
ton. The mines throughout this department and that 
of Choluteca }deld a similar ore, generally occurring 
in a matrix of quartz, with varying proportions of 
brown blende, and sulphurets of zinc and iron, and 
oxydes of iron. 

The mines of the. Department of Gracias are equally 
celebrated with those of Tegucigalpa. Some remarka- 
ble combinations of silver are found in their ores. The 
upper, or old mine of Coloal has sulphuret of copper 
(copper glass), galena with sulphuret of silver, and in 
parts copper pitch ore and black copper, the whole 
yielding fifty-eight per cent, of copper, besides from 
seventy-eight to eighty-four ounces of silver to the ton. 
The ores of the new mine of Coloal are a combination 
of chloride of silver, a little sulphuret of silver, oxyde 
of iron and antimony, mixed with earthy matter, and 
yield the somewhat startling proportion of 23.63 per 
cent., or 8476 ounces per ton of 2000 lbs. ! 

Dependent upon the silver deposits of Honduras are 
those of the Department of San Miguel, in San Salva- 
dor. The silver occurs generally in the form of sul- 



164 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. X. 

phurets, in combination with galena, iron, black blende 
(sulphuret of zinc), in quartz and greenstone matrices, 
interspersed with threads and crystals of native silver. 
The particular mines known as those of " El Tabanco" 
are richest, and yield from 100 to 2537 ounces per ton. 
These have been extensively and profitably worked, 
and derive a large part of their value from their prox- 
imity to the Bay of Fonseca. 

Gold mines are not uncommon in Honduras, but, 
excepting those of San Andres in the Department of 
Gracias, and in the vicinity of San Juan Cantaranas 
in Tegucigalpa, they are no longer worked. The prin- 
cipal supplies of this metal in the state are drawn 
from the gold-washings of Olancho, which are exceed- 
ingly productive. The River Guyape has always en- 
joyed great celebrity for the amount of gold contained 
in its sands ; but, since the early periods of Spanish 
occupancy, washing has not been carried on except on 
a very small scale by the Indians, and even with them 
the process is generally left to the women and children, 
who only work for a few hours on Sunday mornings. 
Yet the amount thus obtained and carried into Juti- 
calpa in the year 1853 was valued at $129,600. 

The following jDaragraphs in reference to the gold 
district of Olancho are extracted from a private letter 
from Dr. Charles Doratt, who visited that region in 
1853: 

"Among the rivers of Olancho, which we visited and 
'prospected,' the Guyape and Jalan are decidedly the 
richest in auriferous sands. These two rivers unite a 
little below Juticalpa, the capital of Olancho, and form 
the Bio Patuca or Patook (see ante^ p. 79). The gold 
deposits on the Guyape commence properly at a point 
called Aleman, continuing thence up the river, the 



Chap. X.] mines and minerals. 165 

banks upon both sides containing much fine gold. 
We found gold in the alluvions half a mile distant 
from the present bed of the river. Leaving Juticalpa 
in a northeast direction, and crossing the department 
near Yocon, over an area of twenty leagues long and 
ten broad, there U not a streamlet, however insignifi- 
cant, which does not contain gold both in its sands and 
in the banks which border it. For the most part, these 
streams follow the courses of the mountains, and fall 
into the Guyape and Jalan. The remaining ones, in- 
cluding the Sisaca and Mangualil (the latter carrying 
2old of larger size than the others), run into the 'Rio 
Mirajoco,' which, taking the name of Taguale, after 
fertilizing the beautiful valley of Olancho, reaches the 
sea near Truxillo. In these larger rivers the gold is 
found in deposits near the bends and rapids. The fin- 
est gold is from the Guyape, Jalan, and Mangualil, in 
the Department of Olancho, and the Sulaco, Caymito, 
and Pacaya in that of Yoro. * * * At Aleman 
the women only wash the sand on Sunday mornings, 
and, with the aid of their miserable hatteas, in a few 
hours procure a sufficient quantit}^ of the metal to sup- 
ply their wants for the ensuing week. It is sold on 
the spot at from $11 50 to $12 per ounce. At Gui- 
jana the gold is found in a soft slate, and at San Fe- 
lipe in a red, ferruginous earth. About five leagues 
from Danli, the Jalan produces Avell, and at the time 
of my visit there were more than a hundred men and 
women engaged in washing. They also used the hat- 
teas, and never went more than two or three feet below 
the surface." 

The southern districts of Honduras, bordering on 
Nicaragua, bear also rich placers of gold, whence the 
Indians " annually take considerable quantities. The 



166 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. X. 

same is true of the northern districts of the Depart- 
ment of Sta. Barbara. The streams which flow from 
the Mountains of Omoa into the Rio Chamelicon, and 
especially those in the vicinity of the town of Quimis- 
tan, all carry gold in their sands. Miners properly 
provided Avith implements for washing could not fail 
to secure here a rich reward for their labor and enter- 
prise. 

Honduras has also mines of copper of unsurpassed 
richness and value. The ores in all cases contain con- 
siderable proportions of silver. Those of Coloal, in 
Gracias, already alluded to, contain 58 per cent, of cop- 
per, besides about 80 ounces of silver to the ton. The 
ores from the mine of Guanacaste, Department of Olan- 
cho, give upward of 80 per cent, of pure copper, besides 
2.9 per cent, of silver, equal to 1039 ounces of silver 
per ton. But, notwithstanding their great richness, 
these mines have been always neglected by the mining 
interest, or worked primarily for the silver which they 
contain in combination Avith the copper. Under the 
peculiar circumstances of the country, and principally 
from the difficulty of communication, the production 
of this metal has hitherto been regarded as unprofita- 
ble, and the pure cojDper as hardly worth its transport- 
ation to the coast ; but, with improved means of com- 
munication, and the introduction of modern improve- 
ments in reducing the ores, the copper mines of Hon- 
duras must become one of the principal sources of 
wealth to the state. There are some mines of this 
metal in the neighborhood of the Gulf of Fonseca 
from which it has been customary for the merchants to 
ballast vessels, or fill out the freight of those bound for 
England or Germany, where the ores have always com- 
manded a good price, and yielded a fair retm-'n to the 



Chap. X.] mines and minerals. 167 

shippers, notwithstanding the difficulty and cost of 
transportation to the coast. 

Byam, who visited Nicaragua and Honduras for 
mining purposes, describes the copper ores as, for the 
most part, "uncombined with sulphur," and not re- 
quiring calcination. He adds, that ' ' they may all be 
smelted in a common blast furnace, with the aid of 
equal quantities of iron stone, of which there is abund- 
ance in the hilly country. The ores are what the Span- 
ish miners call metal de color, red and blue oxydes, and 
green carbonates, with now and then the brown or pig- 
eon-breasted. They cut easily and smoothly with the 
knife, and yield from 25 to 60 per cent. The veins 
are generally vertical, and the larger ones run east and 
west." 

Iron ores are common, but none of the mines of this 
metal are worked, except those of Agalteca in Tegu- 
cigalpa. The ore is highly magnetic, and so nearly 
pure that it is forged without smelting. It occurs in 
vast and exhaustless beds, and the metal might be pro- 
duced in any desirable quantity ; yet, within ten leagues 
of the mine, in the same department, it sells at the rate 
of from $10 to $12 -per quiiital, equal to $200 per ton! 

Platina is said to exist both in the departments of 
Choluteca and Gracias, but the mines have never been 
worked. Cinnabar has also been found at several 
points, but probably not in sufficient quantities to ad- 
mit of being reduced with profit. Zinc occurs in vari- 
ous combinations, and superior ores of the metal are 
found in great abundance on the islands of Guanaja. 
(Bonacca) and Roatan. Antimony and tin also exist, 
but whether in such combinations as will admit of 
then' economic production remains to be proved by ex- 
periment. 



168 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. X. 

The opal mines of Gracias are worked to a large ex- 
tent, and have been very productive. Some of the 
stones are large and beautiful, but most have suffered 
at the hands of the Indians, who estimate their value 
rather from their numbers than their size, and conse- 
quently break them in small pieces. 

No means exist for determining the annual product 
of the opal mines, but it may be partially inferred from 
the fact that the mines or workings in the department 
are not less than one hundred in number. Amethysts 
are also reported as having been found in this depart- 
ment, but none have fallen under my notice. Asbestos 
is known to exist, and, there is reason to believe, might 
be produced in quantities sufficient to meet all demands. 

Coal has been discovered in several localities. The 
beds in the valley or plain of Sensenti are very exten- 
sive. I visited those in the neighborhood of the vil- 
lage of Chucuyuco, at a j^oint where they are cut through 
by the streams flowing down from the Mountains of 
Merendon into the Rio Higuito. The lower bed is 
about eight feet in thickness, separated from an upper 
stratum, which is two feet in thickness, by a layer of 
bituminous shale. The coal is Avhat is called "brown 
coal, " which is of a later formation than that familiarly 
known as "^3?^ coal.,'''' which occurs beneath the new red 
sandstone. It is a tertiary formation of the era of the 
chalk of the Mississippi Valley. This coal occurs in 
vast layers in various parts of Germany, where it is ex- 
tensively used for smelting metals in reverberating fur- 
naces. Specimens of the Sensenti coal gave the fol- 
lowing results : 

Specific gravity .... 1.504 
Ashes 25 per cent. 

But these specimens were taken from the exposed faces 



Chap. X.] mines and minerals. 169 

of the beds, where they were washed hy the? streams, 
and were consequently much infiltrated with foreign 
substances. The area of the beds is not known, but 
they probably extend below the greater part of the 
plain or valley. Situated so far inland, it is not pre- 
sumed that these beds can ever have more than a local 
value in the reduction of the rich silver and co^iper 
ores found in the neighboring mountains. 

Other beds of coal are said to exist in the valley of 
the Sulaco River, Department of Comayagua, and in 
the neighborhood of Nacaome, Department of Cholu- 
teca, but I am in possession of no positive information 
in resjoect to them. There are some beds in the valley 
of the River Torola, which will be more fully noticed 
when I come to speak of the coal deposits of the valley 
of the River Lempa, State of San Salvador. 

In addition to these brief notices of the mines and 
minerals of Honduras, I may mention that an abund- 
ance of fine white, blue, and veined limestone is scat- 
tered throughout every department- of the state. Large 
beds are found within a few miles of the Gulf of Fon- 
seca, and extend thence through the valley of the Rio 
Goascoran, plain of Comaj'agua, and valley of the 
Humuya, to the Bay of Honduras. The hills and 
mountains back of Omoa have exhaustless quarries 
of a fine, compact white marble, remarkably free from 
faults and stains, and well adapted for statuary and or- 
namental use. 

It is impossible, from the same want of data which 
I have deplored in respect to every other branch of in- 
dustry, to form an accurate or satisfactorily approx- 
imate estimate of the past or present production of the 
mines of Honduras. It is alleged by persons whose 
antecedents entitle their statements to weight, that up- 



170 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. X. 

ward of $3, 000, 000 in gold and silver were annually 
exported from the northern parts of the state during 
the later years of its provincial existence. Since the 
independence, a small export duty has existed on bull- 
ion, but the facilities for evading the law have been 
such that it is not likely that one tenth part of the 
amount sent out of the country has come upon the rec- 
ords of the customs. Any statement upon the subject 
must therefore be purely conjectural. 

In 1825, a statement was made by the Master of the 
Mint of the Federal Republic of the amount of gold 
and silver coined for the period of fifteen years previ- 
ous and subsequent to 1810. He reported as follows : 

"For fifteen years, ending 1810, were coined 285 
marks of gold, 253,560 marks of silver, collectively val- 
ued at $2,193,832. 

"For fifteen years, ending 1825, 1524 marks of gold, 
423,881 marks of silver, equal in value to $3,810,383." 

But the amount coined in the mint of Guatemala 
was insignificant in comparison with the aggregate pro- 
duct of the country during the same period. Where 
there was one dollar of coin from the mint in circula- 
tion, there were twenty dollars which were without the 
government stamp, mere rough pieces of pure gold and 
silver, which were received and paid out by weight.* 
Furthermore, during that period, with the exception 
of indigo and cochineal, the precious metals constituted 
the principal export of the country. Upon this point 
the report above quoted observes: "It must not be 
deduced from these statements that the amount of gold 

* Thomas Gage, an English friar, who resided for twelve years in Guatemala, 
about the middle of the seventeenth century, has left us some facts which go to 
show the large and unrecorded production of the precious metals at that period. 
He speaks of one hundred mules entering the city of Granada "laden with gold 
and silver, which was the king's tribute," — New Survey of the West Indies, p. 421. 



Chap. X] mines and minerals. 171 

and silver coined indicates the amount produced in the 
country. Apart from the amount manufactured into 
ornaments and used for other purposes, there has been 
a great quantity exj)orted, particularly since 1821. It 
is positively known that the merchants of Honduras 
and other parts have exported great quantities of gold 
and silver bullion, so that, according to the calculations 
of intelligent persons, not one tenth part of the pro- 
duction of these metals has passed into the mint. On 
this account, it is impossible to state exactly the act- 
ual produce of each year, and much less the amount 
exported, because the greater part has been eifected 
clandestinely. In all the territories of the republic 
there are mines in abundance, but particularly in the 
State of Honduras, where the greatest number are to 
be found, and where Nature presents her greatest min- 
eral Avealth.* * '•' M. Gourmez, a mining engineer, 
who has visited most of the mines of Hondm^as, assures 
me that it is easier to find mines than men to work 
them ; and that, if labor and means of communication 
existed, our mineral productions might in a short time 
rival those of Mexico and Peru."* 

It should be observed that Honduras has adopted, 
without modification, the famous ^'- Ordenanzas de la 
Miner ia,'''' or mineral ordinances of Spain, for the gov- 
ernment of th« mining interest. 

* It is affirmed, in the report here quoted, that upward of two thousand metallic 
veins had been registered in Honduras up to the year 1825. 



172 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 



CHAPTEE, XI. 

PRECIOUS WOODS VEGETABLE PRODUCTIONS ANIMALS 

FISHES REPTILES INSECTS. 

T^HE precious woods of Honduras rank next only 
-^ to its minerals in point of value. At present 
they probably constitute the princijDal item in the ex- 
ports of the stata Tliose best known are the mahog- 
any and rosewood ; but the proportion of the former 
which enters into commerce is much the greatest, and, 
both in this respect, and as giving employment to a 
considerable body of the inhabitants of the state, it is 
entitled to a first consideration. 

And here it may be observed that the mahogany-tree 
of Honduras {Sivietinia Mahogoni)^ in respect of its 
vast size and magnificent foliage, is entitled to be called 
'^'King of the Forest." In comparison Avith it, all 
other trees dwindle into insignificance. The enormous 
size and height of the trunk, the vast spread of its 
branches, and the space of ground occupied by its roots, 
are equally remarkable. It is of exceedingly slow 
growth, hardly undergoing a perceptiljle increase of 
size in the narrow span of man's life. It has been cal- 
culated that it requires three hundred years wherein 
to attain a growth proper for cutting. Some idea may 
be formed of the ofreat size which it sometimes attains 
from the fact that the lower section of a tree, seventeen 
feet long, has been knoAvn to measure "in the square" 
five feet six inches, equal to five hundred and fift}'^ cubic 
feet, and a weight of seventeen tons ! 



ly 







Chap. XL] precious woods. 173 

The mahogany grows in nearly all parts of Hondu- 
ras, in the valleys of the various streams. It is, how- 
ever, most abundant upon the low grounds which bor- 
der the rivers flowing into the Bay of Honduras, where 
it also attains its greatest size and beauty, and where 
the mahogany-works, called ' ' cortes" (cuttings) by the 
Spaniards, are chiefly confined. As these lands are 
for the most part the property of the state, the wood 
is cut under licenses obtained from the government, 
which exacts a fixed sum for each tree. Except those 
made at the mouths of the various rivers for receiving, 
marking, and shipping the wood as it is floated down, 
the mahogany establishments are necessarily tempo- 
rary, and changed from time to time as trees become 
scarce in their neighborhood. 

Of all occupations known to man, that of the ma- 
hogany-cutter is perhaps the Avildest in its nature, and 
yet among the most systematic in its arrangements. 
When the cutter has fixed upon the valley of some 
river as the field of his operations, he makes a de^Dot 
for storing provisions, and for securing and embarking 
the wood. Here he maintains a little fleet oi ijitpans 
for carrying supplies and keeping up relations with 
the "Avorks" proper, the sites of which are determined 
chiefly by the abundance of trees, their accessibility, 
and the means that exist for feedins; the cattle wdiich 
it is necessary to use in "trucking' the wood. To 
these points it is often necessary to drive the oxen 
through thick and untracked forests, and to carry the 
chains and trucks, by means of small boats, against 
strong currents, or over sliallows atid rapids, Avhich are 
only surmounted with infinite labor. 

The site once definitively fixed upon, the next step is 
to erect temporary dwellings for the men : a task of 



174 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

no great difficulty, as the only requisite is protection 
from the sun and rains, which is eifected by a roof 
thatched with long grass from the swamps, or with 
"cahoon" leaves, or the branches of the thatch-palm. 
A hammock swung between two posts, two stones to 
support his kettle, and the hut of the cutter is both 
finished and furnished ! 

The mahogany season, which lasts some months, 
commences in August of each year, it being the opin- 
ion of cutters that the wood is not then so apt to split 
in falling, nor so likely to "check" in seasoning, as 
when cut from Aj)ril to August, in what is called "the 
spring." Furthermore, by commencing at this period, 
the cutter is enabled to get down his wood, and prepare 
it for trucking by the setting in of the dry season. 

The laborers are divided into gangs or companies 
of from tAventy to fifty each, under the direction of a 
leader styled "a captain," who directs the men in his 
company, assigns them their daily tasks, and adds to or 
deducts from their wages in proportion as they accom- 
plish more or less than what is supposed to be a just 
day's work. Each gang has also one person connected 
with it, who is called a hunter, whose duty it is to 
search the "bush" for trees proper to be cut. His 
work, therefore, commences somewhat earlier than that 
of the others, and, as it involves activity and intelli- 
gence, he is paid much higher wages than the mere cut- 
ters. His first movement is to cut his way through 
the thickest of the woods to some elevated situation, 
where he climbs the tf|llest trees he finds, from which 
he minutely surveys the surrounding country. 

"At this season of the year (August), the leaves of the ma- 
liogany-tree are invariably of a yellow-reddish hue, and an eye 
accustomed to this kind of exercise can, at a great distance, dis- 



Chap. XL] precious woods. 175 

cern the places where the wood is most abundant. He now 
descends, and to such places his steps are at once directed, and, 
without compass or other guide than what observation has im- 
printed on iiis recollection, he never fails to reach the exact spot 
at which he aims. On some occasions, no ordinary stratagem 
is necessary to be resorted to by the huntsman to prevent oth- 
ers from availing themselves of the advantage of his discoveries ; 
for, if his steps be traced by those who may be engaged in the 
same pursuit, which is a very common thing, all his ingenuity 
must be exerted to beguile them fi*om the true track. In this, 
however, he is not always successful, being followed by those 
who are entirely aware of all the arts he may use, and whose 
eyes are so quick that the slightest turn of a leaf or the faintest 
impression of the foot is unerringly perceived ; even the dried 
leaves which may be strewed upon the ground often help to 
conduct to the secret spot ; and it consequently happens that per- 
sons so engaged must fi-equently undergo the disappointment of 
finding an advantage they had promised to themselves seized on 
by others. The hidden treasure being, however, discovered, the 
next operation is the felling of a sufficient number of trees to em- 
ploy the gang during the season. 

" The tree is commonly cut about ten or twelve feet from the 
ground, a stage being erected for the axe-man employed in lev- 
eling it ; this, to an observer, would appear a labor of much 
danger, but an accident rarely happens to the people engaged in 

it. The trunk of the tree, from the dimensions of the wood it 

» 

furnishes, is deemed most valuable ; but, for purposes of an or- 
mental kind, the limbs or branches are generally preferred, their 
grain being much closer, and the veins richer and more varie- 
gated." 

A sufficient number of trees being cut, the prepara- 
tions for "trucking" commence by the opening of roads 
from the places where they lie to the nearest river. 
The distance of road to be cut depends on the situation 
of the trees. When they are much dispersed, miles of 
roads and many bridges are required. A firm and well- 
graded main road is first built, from whence radiate 



176 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

numerous wing-roads. These are all built by task- 
work, and the principal amount of the labor of the cut- 
ters is expended upon them. The clearing away of the 
bushes and undergrowth is the work of one set of men, 
who are expected to clear one hundred yards per day. 
They are followed by another set, who cut down the 
larger trees as even with the ground as possible, the 
task being also one hundred yards per day to each la- 
borer, although this is more difficult and laborious, from 
the number of hard woods growing here, which, on fail- 
ure of the axe, are removed by the application of fire. 
The trunks of these trees, although many of them are 
valuable for different purposes, such as bullet-tree, iron- 
wood, redwood, sapodilla, etc., are thrown away as use- 
less, unless they happen to be adjacent to some creek 
or small river which may intersect the road ; in that 
case they are applied to the constructing of bridges 
across the same, which are frequently of considerable 
size, and require great labor to make them of sufficient 
strength to bear such immense loads as are taken over 
them. 

The roads being finished generally by the month 
of December, the trees are sawn into logs of various 
lengths, in order to equalize the loads which the oxen 
have to draw. This being completed, the logs are sep- 
arated one from the other, and placed in whatever po- 
sition will admit of the largest square being formed 
according to the shape which the end of each log pre- 
sents, and is then reduced, by means of the axe, from the 
round or natural form into "the square;" although 
some of the smaller logs are brought out in "the round," 
yet, with the larger description, the making them square 
is essential, not only to lessen their weight, but also to 
prevent their rolling on the truck or carriage. 



Chap. XI.] precious woods. 177 

" In the months of April and May, all the various prepara- 
tions having been completed, and the dry season having become 
sufficiently advanced, the " trucking" commences in earnest. 
This may be said to be the mahogany-cutters' harvest, as the 
result of liis season's work depends upon a continuance of the 
dry weather, for a single sliower of rain would materially injure 
his roads. The number of trucks worked is proportioned to the 
strength of the gang, and the distance generally from six to ten 
miles. We will, for example, take a gang of forty men, capa- 
ble of working six trucks, each of which requires seven pair of 
oxen and two drivers, sixteen to cut food for the cattle, and 
twelve to load or put the logs on the can-iages, which latter 
usually take up a temporary residence somewhere near the main 
body of the wood, it being too far to go and return each day to 
the river side, or chief establishment. From the intense heat 
of the sun, the cattle would be unable to work dui'ing its influ- 
ence ; consequently, they are obliged to use the night-time in lieu 
of the day, the sultry effects of which it becomes requisite to 
avoid. Tlie loaders, as before mentioned, being now at their 
stations in the forest, the trucks set off from the einbarcadero 
about six o'clock in tlie evening, and arrive at tlieir different 
places of loading about eleven or twelve o'clock at night. The 
loaders, being at this time asleep, are warned of the approach of 
the trucks by the cracking of the whips carried by the cattle- 
drivers, which are heard at a considerable distance ; they arise, 
and commence placing the logs on the trucks, which is done by 
means of a temporary platform laid from the edge of the truck 
to a sufficient distance upon the ground, so as to make an in- 
clined plane, upon which the log is gradually pushed up from 
each end alternately. Having completed their work of loading 
all the trucks, which may be done in three hours, they again re- 
tire to rest till about nine o'clock next morning. The drivers 
now set out on their return, but their progi'ess is considerably 
retarded by the lading, and, although avcII provided with torch- 
light, they arc frequently impeded by small stumps that remain 
in the road, and which would be easily avoided in daylight ; 
they, however, are in general all out at the river by eleven 
o'clock next morning, when, after throwing the ^~-'" '"^'^ ■'^ 

M 



178 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

river, haAang previously marked tliem on each end with the 
owner's initials, the cattle are fed, the drivers retire to rest un- 
til about sunset, when they feed the cattle a second time, and 
joke in again. 

" Nothing can present a more extraordinary appearance than 
this process of trucking, or drawing down the mahogany to the 
river. The six trucks will occupy an extent of road of a quar- 
ter of a mile. The great number of oxen, the drivers half naked 
(clothes being inconvenient from the heat of the weather and 
clouds of dust), and each bearing a torch-light, the wildness of 
the forest scenery, the rattling of chains, the sound of the whip 
echoing through the woods — then all is activity and exertion so 
ill corresponding with the silent hour of midnight, makes it wear 
more the appearance of some theatrical exhibition than what it 
really is, the pursuit of industry which has fallen to the lot of 
the Honduras wood-cutter. 

" About the end of May the periodical rains again commence. 
The torrents of water discharged from the clouds are so s;reat as 
to render the roads impassable in the course of a few hours, 
when all trucking ceases ; the cattle are turned into the pasture, 
and the trucks, gear, and tools, etc., are housed. 

" The rain now pours down incessantly till about the middle 
of June, when the rivers swell to an immense height. The logs 
then float down a distance of 200 miles, being followed by the 
gangs in pitpans (a kind of flat-bottomed canoe) to disengage 
them from the branches of the overhanging trees, until they are 
stopped by a boom placed in some situation convenient to the 
mouth of the river. 

" Each gang then separates its own cutting by the mark on 
the ends of the logs, and forms them into large rafts, in which 
state they are brought down to the wharves of the proprietors, 
where they are taken out of the water, and undergo a second 
process of the axe to make the surface smooth. The ends, 
which frequently get split and rent by the force of the current, 
are also sawed off, when they are ready for shipping." 

The wages paid in Belize by the English cutters on 
the eastern coast of Yucatan do not vary much from 



Chap. XI.] precious woods. 179 

the prices common in Honduras. A "gang" there is 
understood to comprehend a " captain" and fifty men, 
divided into thirty first class, ten second class, and ten 
third class. The captain receives from $30 to $45 per 
month, and the men $15, $12, and $10, according to 
their rank. The hunter for the gang has $15 per 
month, or most frequently is paid at from half a dollar 
to a dollar for each tree he finds, according to its size 
and value. The men here, as in Honduras, are sup- 
plied with tools and rations, and receive their pay in 
the same relative proportion of goods and money. 

Ai'ound Belize the mahogany-cutters are chiefly ne- 
groes, descendants of the slaves who were formerly em- 
ployed there. But in Honduras they are principally 
Caribs, who in activity and strength are said to excel 
the negroes ; they are also more intelligent, and require 
less care and superintendence. Many of them go an- 
nually to Belize, and hire themselves for the season, re- 
turning to their homes at its close. 

In reference to the mahogany trade of Honduras, as, 
indeed, in respect to every other branch of industry and 
commerce, we are absolutely without information both 
as to its amount and value. It may nevertheless be 
regarded as steadily increasing, and as promising to 
become every year more important as the supplies of 
wood from the islands and from the peninsula of Yu- 
catan diminish, and as the demand for it in the mar- 
kets of the world is augmented. The principal estab- 
lishments are now on the River Ulua and its branches, 
and on the Aguan, Black, and Patuca rivers. The 
other streams have been neglected, in consequence of 
the difiiculty of floating down the wood, as well as of 
embarking it on an unprotected shore. 

Besides the mahogany, Honduras supplies nearly ev- 



180 EEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI, 

erj other variety of wood common to the tropics, all 
of which are too well known to need more than an 
enumeration. Rosewood (Amyris Balsamifera^ L. ) is 
common on the northern coast, where it is beginning to 
become an article of commerce. Lignumvitse {JRham- 
nus Sarcomphalus^ L.) abounds in the valley of the 
Ulua, and on the banks of the rivers in the plain of 
Comayagua, and, no doubt, is common in all other 
parts of the state. 

Among the numerous dyewoods, or trees producing 
dyes, for which Honduras is famed, may be enumerated 
the Fustic [Morus Tinctoria^ L. ) ; Yellow Sanders 
{Santakim) ; Brazil-wood {^Cwsalpina Uchinata, 1j.) ; 
Dragon's-blood-tree (Pterocarpus Draco, L.) ; Nicara- 
gua-wood (a variety of Brazil-wood) ; and the Anotta 
[Bixa Orellana). 

Trees producing gums and medicines are not less 
numerous. The Gum Arabic bush {Acacia Arabica) 
abounds on all the open savannas on the Pacific slope. 
And in the forests may be found the Copaiba-tree [Co- 
paifera Officinalis, L.) ; the Copal -tree {Hedwigia 
Balsamifera) ; Liquid Amber {Styrax Officinalis) ; 
Palma Christi (Bicinus Communis) ; Ipecacuanha, 
and, finally, the Ule, Caoutchouc or India-rubber {Si- 
phonia Elastica). The latter is abundant in the low 
lands of both coasts. Small quantities are collected 
for sale by the Caribs on the Bay of Honduras, but it 
has as yet received very little attention. 

Among the common and most useful woods, the 
long-leaved or pitch pine deserves the first mention, not 
less on account of its excellent quality than its great 
abundance. It may almost be said to cover all the 
more elevated portions of Honduras, from one sea to 
the other. Upon the Pacific slope of the continent it 



Chap. XI.] precious woods. 181 

makes its appearance on the liills and mountains at 
the height of about 1200 feet above the sea. Toward 
the interior it is found at lower elevations, and on the 
Atlantic declivity it is abundant nearly down to the 
sea level. I found it on the low hills bordering the 
great plain of Sula, on the west, at the height of 250 
feet ; and it is well known that on the savannas bor- 
derins: the rivers and lao-oons to the eastward of Trux- 
illo, as well as on the Mosquito Shore, it is a character- 
istic feature. The trees do not grow closely together, 
but stand well apart, permitting the mountain grasses 
to grow beneath and around them, so that a pine for- 
est in the interior more resembles a well-kept park than 
the thickets to which we are accustomed to give the 
name of forest. The trees grow frequently to great 
size, but average about twenty inches in diameter. 
They are rich in pitch, and the wood is firm, heavy, 
and durable, and the heart is never attacked by insects. 
It furnishes, therefore, a cheap and convenient timber 
for all kinds of constructions in the country, as well 
for bridges as for buildings and for boats. Captain 
Henderson observes of the Honduras pine : "The tim- 
ber which it furnishes can scarcely be exceeded in size, 
and is generally considered, for every necessary purpose, 
greatly superior to what can be imported from the 
United States;" and Strangeways expresses the con- 
viction that the endless tracts of pine forest on the 
northern coast will ultimately come to fm^nish a large 
supply both of pitch, tar, and timber for the wants of 
commerce. 

The Ceclro^ or cedar ( Cedrela Oclorata^ L. ), ranks next 
to the pine in the list of common and useful ^voods. 
It is found in all the valleys, but more particularly in 
those of the principal rivers near the coasts. It attains 



182 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

the heio-ht of seventy or eighty feet, and a diameter of 
from fom- to seven feet. It is not attacked by insects, 
is light and easily worked, as well as ornamental in 
color and agreeable in smell. For these reasons, it is 
more extensively used than any other wood in Hondu- 
ras. It is now exported in small, but increasing quan- 
tities. Most of the canoes and pitpans of the natives 
are hollowed from the trunks of the cedro, and are both 
light and durable, but liable to be split in beaching. 

The Ceiba^ or- silk-cotton-tree {Bomhax Ceiha, L.), is 
abundant, and distinguished for its vast size, which 
leads to its common use for '''' bongos''' and '-'• pitpans.''' 
I have seen boats, hollowed from a single trunk, which 
would measure seven feet "in the clear" between the 
sides. This tree blossoms two or three times a year, 
when its carnation flowers give a bloom to an entire 
forest. It produces a pod containing a kind of downy 
fibre or cotton, which is sometimes used to stuff cush- 
ions and pillows, and may possibly be made useful for 
other purposes. 

In addition to these woods, all of those enumerated 
below are more or less abundant, and fitted for use, 
viz. : Live-oak [Bignonia) ; Santa Maria ; Sum wood ; 
Sapodillo {Achras Sapota) ; Mangrove {Bizop)liora 
Mangle) ; Mangrove Grape-tree ( Coccoloha Uvifera) ; 
Iron-wood {Syderoxylum) ; Calabash ( Crescentia) ; But- 
ton-wood or Mangle Saragoza ; Mohoe [Althosa ruce- 
mosa) ; Locust {Hymencjea Courbaril) ; Pole-wood ; Al- 
mond or Ahnendrillo ; various kinds of Oak ; Grana- 
diWo (Brya Ehanus) ; many varieties of Palms; Zapote 
{Sap)ote Maminosa\ etc., etc. 

Apart from the lime, lemon, orange, and palm trees, 
there is a great variety of trees bearing fruits which 
are indigenous in the country. The cacao is one of 



Chap. XI.] vegetable products. 183 

these, and is remarkably abundant on the northern al- 
luvions, where the natives draw their entire supplies 
from the forests. It is known there as the Cacao Mico, 
monkey or Avild cacao, and is distinguished from the 
cultivated variety by having larger nuts, and, it is claim- 
ed, a finer flavor. The pimiento-tree, closely resem- 
bling the Jamaica "allspice" (Myrtus Pmienta), is also 
indigenous. Its berry is somewhat larger than the va- 
riety found in the islands, but weaker in its aroma, and 
has not }'et entered into the commerce of the country. 

The Anona, of several varieties, is also indigenous ; 
the Aguacate, or Alligator Pear {Persea Gratimimp) ; 
Citron [Citrus Tuherosa) ; Tamarind (Tamarindus Oc- 
ciaentalis); Gu£iVSU"(Psidium Guajavas); Pines {Bro- 
melia Ananas) ; Mango (Mangofera Domestica) ; Pa- 
paya {Carica Papaya) ; Zapote ; Granado {Punica 
Granatum) ; Mamay {Lucuma Bomplandi) ; Nance ; 
Jocote, or wild Plum ; Manzanilla, etc., etc. 

The sarsaparilla (Sniilax Medicinal) is probably pro- 
duced nowhere in the world of better quality or in 
greater abundance than in Honduras^ but more partic- 
ularly on its northern and eastern coasts. It is wholly 
collected by the Indians, but never in greater quanti- 
ties than may be necessary to procure, by exchange, 
such articles of Euroj^ean manufactm^e as they may 
happen to require. It might be systematically obtain- 
ed in quantities to meet every demand of commerce. 

The vanilla {Epidendrum Vanilla) occurs in the same 
district with the sarsaparilla, and is remarkable for its 
luxuriance and the size of its pods. It has not yet be- 
come an article of export, but the specimens Avhich have 
been sen.t to the United States and Europe have al- 
ready elicited orders beyond the capacity of the avail- 
able labor of the coast to supply. 



\ 



184 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

The Pita, called in Mexico Ixtle, is a variety of the 
agave, very prolific, and yielding fibres varying in qual- 
ity from the coarsest hemp to the finest flax. It is 
used for the manufacture of thread, cordage, hammocks, 
jDaper, etc., and, being hardy and easily cultivated, may 
be made an important article of export as well as of 
domestic use. 

I have already said that Honduras produces freely 
all the great staples of the tropics. The lands upon 
both coasts are well ada23ted for cotton, which, how- 
ever, is not now produced, except in small quantities at 
a. ^ASfi-points by the Indians, for their own peculiar 
manufactures. The experiments which have been made 
in the production of this staple, bo<feh iitJ^'n' Sa^^^mt?!*'' 
and Nicaragua, have been in every way satisfactory, so 
far as the quality of the article itself is concerned ; but 
the difficulty of procuring skilled, and, above all, steady 
labor, proved insu23erable, and led to the abandonment 
of the projected plantations. Nevertheless, during one 
year, fifty thousand bales of three hundred pounds each 
were exported from the western ports of Nicaragua. 
According to Mr. Baily, "it took a high standard in 
the Manchester market," where it would always have 
commanded a ready sale. 

The sugar-cane of Honduras, as indeed of all Cen- 
tral America, is indigenous, and widely different from 
the Asiatic variety cultivated in the West Indies and 
the United States, being softer and slenderer, and con- 
taining a proportionately greater quantity of stronger 
juice. It grows luxuriantly, alike on the plains and 
among the mountains, at elevations of between three 
thousand and four thousand feet. Two crops, and, v 
der very favorable circumstances, three crops a year art 
taken annually, and the cane does not require replant- 



•\^. • 



Chap. XI.] vegetable products. 185 

ing but once in ten or twelve years. The crystals of 
the sugar produced from this cane are large and hard, 
and, with care in the manufacture, nearly as white as 
the refined sugar of commerce. There are no exten- 
sive establishments for its production, but innumerable 
little trapiches^ or mills, driven generally by oxen, are 
scattered all over the state, to supply the local wants 
of the people. The greater part of the supply for or- 
dinary consumption is in the form of ^'' cliancaca^'''' or 
crude sugar, made into cakes of about two pounds each, 
and wrapped in plantain-leaves. In this form it is 
eaten with the native tortillas^ and constitutes an article 
of daily food among the lower classes. 

Coffee of excellent quality flourishes freely in Hon- 
duras, although it has never been adopted as an article 
of general production, not even to the extent of sup- 
plying the consumption of the state. I saw neglected 
patches at various places in the Department of Gracias, 
in all of which the bushes were heavily laden with the 
berries. In Costa Rica the cultivation of coffee has 
been introduced with the best success. In 1851, the 
product of that little state was upward of 20, 000, 000 
IIds., bringing in the English market an average price 
of $1 2 50 per cwt. , equal to $2, 500, 000 in value. There 
is every reason for believing that coffee of equally good 
quality with that of Costa Rica ma}^ be produced in 
Honduras, which has every requisite variety of soil and 
climate. 

Cochineal seems to have been anciently cultivated, 
to a small extent, in Honduras, but the production is 
now entirely confined to Guatemala, of which state it 
constitutes the chief staple. The JVojxd is abundant 
and indigenous in the plain of Comayagua, where its 
leaves are silvered with the webs of the Cochineal Sil- 
vestre^ or wild cochineal. 



186 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

The tobacco of Honduras lias a deserved celebrity 
throughout Central America ; that of the Llanos de 
Sta. Rosa, Department of Gracias, is regarded as sec- 
ond to none in the world. It was, in fact, the dis- 
covery of the peculiar advantages of that locality for 
the cultivation of this staple which led to the founda- 
tion of the flourishing city of Sta. Rosa, which is now 
the most im^^ortant place in the department, complete- 
ly overshadowing the ancient city of Gracias. The 
cultivation of tobacco was commenced on the plains of 
Sta. Rosa near the close of the last century, and in- 
creased so rapidly that, in 1795, a royal factory was 
established there, and a factor appointed by the crown. 
From this time the tobacco ]3roduced here grew in 
importance and reputation, until it came to be sent 
not only throughout the old kingdom of Guatemala, 
but to Mexico, Peru, and even to Spain itself. The 
pojDulation of Sta. Rosa increased in proportion, and 
in 1823 the Constituent Assembly gave it the name of 
Villa. The political convulsions which have agitated 
the country since have been severely felt at Sta. Rosa, 
in the falling off in the production of its great staple, 
and in a corresponding decrease in population ; still, 
the amount annually produced is considerable, of which 
a large part is exported to Cuba, where it is manufac- 
tured and sold as the production of that island. The 
plains of Olancho, as also the valley of Sonaguera, are 
said to j)roduce a suj^erior quality of tobacco. Some 
of the tobacco of Honduras finds its way to the other 
states, and considerable quantities have been exported 
from the Pacific ports to Hamburg and other ports 
of Germany. The attempts which have been made to 
export cigars have not been successful, chiefly from de- 
ficiency of skill in the preparation and manufacture of 



Chap. XI.] vegetable products. 187 

the tobacco. With increased experience and knowledge 
in these respects, there is no doubt that tobacco will 
become a principal article of production and commerce. 

Indigo is not produced to any large extent in Hon- 
duras. Its cultivation has nevertheless been recently 
introduced in the valley of the Chamelicon, Department 
of Gracias, with the most satisfactory results. The 
quality of the article is found to equal that of Nicara- 
gua and San Salvador, w^hich is regarded as superior to 
the indigo of India. There is every reason to believe 
that the production might be extended with ease and 
profit throughout the valley of the Chamelicon, and 
the vallej's of the other streams falling into the Bay of 
Honduras. 

Maize flourishes luxuriantly, and two crops a year 
may be raised on the same ground wherever the soil is 
sufficiently moist, or may be made so by irrigation. In 
the interior, among the mountains, it is not customary 
to plant the fields a second time in the course of the 
}^ear, except for the purpose of growing the stalks, to 
be cut down as sacate or fodder for cattle. The vari- 
ety of maize in general use more resembles that of New 
England than of the Mississippi Valley. The grain is 
remarkably full and hard, and the ears relatively small, 
but numerous. Here, as in nearly every part of trop- 
ical America, maize is essentially the "staif of life;" 
and, made into tortillas^ tamales, atole^ tiste, and other 
forms of food, constitutes the chief support of the peo- 
ple. It is generally cheap, but occasionally suffers from 
the chapulin or langosta, a species of locust or fl}'ing 
grasshopper, which comes in such clouds as com})letely 
to destroy the largest mUpa in the course of a few 
hours. As the pest of langosta is usually general, the 
visitation sometimes results in a great scarcity, border- 



188 ' ' REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XL 

ins" on famine; in which cases maize advances to as 
high as four and five, and even ten dollars per bushel. 
Fortunately, the insect seldom attacks the fields which 
are planted high up on the slopes of the mountains, 
where the peojile make their milpas during the period- 
ical visitations of the cliapulin. 

Wheat and the other cereal grains of the temperate 
zone are produced in all the more elevated districts of 
Honduras. Little, if any, foreign flour enters the state, 
and the total consumption may be regarded as sup- 
plied at home. I found the wheat-fields in the vicin- 
ity of the Indian towns, to the southwest of Camaya- 
gua, on the terraces of the mountains, at an elevation 
of four thousand feet above the sea ; but this grain will 
grow at lower altitudes. The stalk is short but firm, 
and the grain not so plump as that produced in north- 
ern latitudes. This may be the result of the poor 
quality of the variety in use, and to the circumstance 
that the seed is never changed. The flour is white 
and well-flavored, and in all respects equal to that pro- 
duced in Chili and the United States. 

nice is largely used, particularly near the coasts, 
where it is produced with little labor and of the best 
quality. 

Potatoes, as I have said, are cultivated to a limited 
extent on the higher j^lateaus of the mountains, but 
chiefly by the Indians, who carry them to the large 
towns, to which their consumption is chiefly confined. 
Elsewhere, and in all parts of the state, the yam and 
the mcmioc or cassava are abundant, and in general 
use. The yams produced near Omoa, Puerto Caballos, 
and Truxillo are remarkable alike for their excellent 
quality and great size, a single root sometimes weigh- 
ing from fifty to sixty pounds ! In conjunction with 



Chap. XL] vegetable products. 189 

plantains, bananas, and the varieties of beans, which, 
under the denomination oi frijoles^ are of universal 
use, these constitute the principal vegetable supplies 
of the country. The plantain is wonderfully luxuri- 
ant on the northern coast. Next to the maize, or per- 
haps deserving the first place, it is the principal reli- 
ance of the people of the tropics as an article of food. 
It is easily propagated, and requu-es but little care 
after planting. Its yield is enormous, and from a sin- 
gle acre it is estimated by Humboldt to equal the crop 
of one hundred and thu-ty-three acres of wheat, and of 
forty-four acres of potatoes ! It must therefore enter 
as an important element in all calculations on the sub- 
ject of provisioning the laborers who may be engaged 
in the construction of the proposed public works in 
Honduras. 

The fauna of Central America corresponds with its 
intermediate geographical position, partaking of the 
character of that of the equatorial regions of South 
America upon the one hand, and the semi-tropical dis- 
tricts of Mexico on the other. Thus we find several 
varieties of the ant-eater, corresponding with those of 
the valley of the Orinoco, on the northern and eastern 
coasts of Honduras, while the gray squirrel of our lat- 
itudes greets us with his familiar bark among the for- 
ests of the interior. 

Among domestic animals, we find the horse, the ass, 
the ox, sheep, goats, hogs, dogs, and cats, all of for- 
eign origin except one variety of the dog, which is in- 
digenous. 

The Horse is found in all parts of Central America, 
although not used, except at a few of the ports, for 
purposes of draught. The savannas afford him an 
abundance of pasturage, and sustain him in good con- 



190 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

dition. Over these he roves in nearly a wild state, 
and is seldom caught except with the aid of the las- 
so. Introduced by the Spaniards, he retains many 
of the peculiarities of the Arab stock. He is small, 
of good build, firm in the joints, and distinguished for 
the extreme smallness and beauty of his ears. He 
suiFers much from insects, which frequently enter the 
ears, causing them to lop, and otherwise disfiguring the 
animal. He is also often attacked by bats (vampiros), 
and by a species of sj)ider (cirana), which attacks the 
feet, and causes the hoof to separate. 

The Ox finds ample pasturage and congenial roving 
ground in the vast savannas and open forests of Hon- 
duras. With the horse, he gives evidence of his Span- 
ish origin. He grows above what in this country is 
regarded as average size, is of great beauty and strength 
of form, powerful neck, short head, and compact, but 
relatively short limbs. He suffers much less than the 
horse from insects, and nearly always looks smooth and 
sleek. The cows do not yield a large quantity of milk, 
but it is of good quality. Vast herds of catjtle are 
raised in various districts of the state, and constitute 
a principal part of the property of the people. Large 
numbers of oxen, broken to the yoke, are supplied to 
the mahogany-works on the coast and at Belize at from 
ten to fifteen dollars the pair. Ordinary cows sell at 
from four to five dollars. 

The Hog is smaller than the European varieties, al- 
most black in color, with thin bristles, long snout, 
short legs, and stout body. He is sometimes kept up 
and fattened, but is generally allowed to run at large 
and find his own food. The Chinese or East Indian 
variety has been successfully introduced by some en- 
terprising citizens of Sta. Rosa, Department of Gracias. 



Chap. XI.] domestic animals. 191 

Goats are not numerous, but breed rapidly, keep in 
good condition, and might be introduced to any desira- 
ble extent, especially in the more elevated districts. 
Since, from the abundance of cattle, they are not re- 
quired for food, they exist in the country rather as do- 
mestic pets than for economic purposes. 

Sheep are found in greater or less numbers, but are 
only raised systematically in Quesaltenango and the 
other departments of Guatemala, constituting what are 
called Los Altos, the Highlands, where their wool is ex- 
tensively manufactured by the natives in a variety of 
thick cloth, much prized throughout all Central Amer- 
ica. The wool seems to be long and coarse, and the 
flesh is but little used for food. There is good reason 
to believe that this animal might be introduced success- 
fully in all of the elevated districts of Honduras. 

The Ass is nowhere used for burden, and is kept sim- 
ply for the purpose of crossing with the horse, and for 
the production of mules. The latter are in universal 
use, and are highly valued. They are chiefly raised in 
the mountain districts, and afterward transferred to the 
plains. Great pains have been taken to produce fine 
breeds, and with considerable success. Taken general- 
ly, they are father small in size, but hardy to a wonder- 
ful degree. Some of large size, and well broken, com- 
mand high prices, ranging from $70 to $300. The 
prices of ordinary cargo mules vary from $15 to $35. 
They are not shod, except in parts of Guatemala, but 
their hoofs are hardened by the application of hot lime- 
juice. Eight arohas (200 lbs.) constitute an ordinary 
load for a pack-mule in Honduras, while ten, and even 
twelve arohas are regarded as a cargo in the level dis- 
tricts of Nicaragua and San Salvador. 

Amonsi; wild animals, Wright, in his Memoirs on the 



192 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

Mosquito Shore, quoted by Strangeways, mentions the 
huffalo^ but he probably mistook the cimarrones^ or wild 
cattle of the coast, for the bison. 

The Deer (Cervus Mexicanus and Cervus JRufus) is 
abundant in the woods and savannas. The variety first 
named resembles the European deer in color, but is 
somewhat less in size, and provided with large antlers. 
The second is more numerous, of lighter and browner 
tint, with short, smooth-pointed horns of, at most, two 
indentations. The young of this variety is very pale 
in color, almost white, and is highly valued for food. 
Captain Henderson may have confounded this variety 
with the antelope, which, he affirms, is found in Hon- 
duras. He says, "If this animal, which in this coun- 
try is known by no other name than that of antelope, 
be not such in fact, it is difficult to designate to what 
class it should belong. The resemblance, so far as de- 
scription can be relied on, is in every respect essential- 
ly the same." It is described as about half the size of 
the fallow deer, short tail, knees furnished with tufts 
of hair, body reddish broAvn, under part of buttocks 
white, horns about twelve inches long, and bent in the 
form of a lyre. It is said to go in large flocks. 

The Peccary (Sus Tajassu, L.) is common in Hon- 
duras, in the valleys of the rivers, and in the neighbor- 
hood of the coasts. 

The Waree {Sus Americensis) is also found in large 
droves in portions of Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa 
Rica. Henderson supposes it to be the ordinary hog 
run wild. 

The Tapir, or mountain-cow {Tapir Americamis, L.), 
is found upon the northern and southern coasts, but 
rarely in the interior country. It is sometimes par- 
tially tamed. 



Chap. XI.] wild animals. 193 

The Manatiis, or Sea-cow (Manatus Americanus, L.), 
is found in all the creeks and lagoons of the northern 
coast. I have never heard of its existence on the 
side of the Pacific. It is well known to belong to the 
mammalia. It grows to the length of ten feet, and at- 
tains a weight of from seven hundred to one thousand 
pounds. The Caribs of the coast hunt it for the sake 
of its flesh, skin, and fat. It is taken with the har- 
poon, and its capture requires a great deal of judgment 
and skill. 

Monkeys (Simia) are numerous, and of many vari- 
eties, including those known as the horned (Simia Fa- 
tuellus, L.), brown (S. Ajyella), and capuchin {S. Cou- 
puchina). The last-named variety is abundant, and is 
a very playful little animal. There is another variety, 
mentioned by Captain Henderson, which is common 
in Honduras, and which he thinks has escaped particu- 
lar notice. " In form and size it resembles the Apella; 
and the female, in which the characteristic diiFerence 
appears most strongly to exist, is particularly denoted 
by a loose, fleshy, appendant membrane, which fre- 
quently occasions its sex to be mistaken. "=•' 

TheKaccoon {Procyon Lotor or Ursus Lotor^ L.), is 
common, of medium size, living chiefly upon animal 
food, and is of thieving propensities. Individuals fre- 
quently live apart, and are called ^' Pisotes solos'' by 
the Spaniards. These grow very fat, and of extraor- 
dinary size. 

The Opossum {Didelphys 0p)0ssum) attains a length 
of ten inches, color gray, powerful head, long and very 
flexible tail, and the feet provided with sharp claws. 
The female has a cavity or sack in the belly for the re- 
ception of her undeveloped young. When they leave 

* Henderson's Honduras, p. 130. 

N 



r-1 



194 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XL 

it they are generally carried on the back of the mother. 
Food, small birds, lizards, etc. 

The Squirrel. There are two kinds of squirrels found 
in Honduras, the gray [Sciurus Cinereus, L.), and the 
small red squirrel {S. Guajanensis). 

The Ant-eater is also found of several varieties, known 
as the striped ant-eater {Myrinecophaga Pentadactyla\ 
and the little ant-eater [M. Didactyla). Among the 
other lesser animals may be enumerated the Quash 
( Viverra Quasje), which resembles the ichneumon, fetid 
in smell, with powerful lacerating teeth. 

The Armadillo of three bands {Dasypus Tricinc- 
tus^ L. ), the eight-banded {D. Octocinctus\ and the nine- 
banded {D. Novencinctus). The Gibeonite ( Cavia Pa- 
ca or Mus Paca, L.) is most plentiful, and is easily 
domesticated. It grows to the length of two feet, thick 
and clumsy in form, and of a dusky brown color, with 
four longitudinal series of spots on each side of the 
body. Its flesh is extolled as a great delicacy. The 
Indian Coney, or Rabbit {Cavia Aguti) is similar to the 
Gibeonite, and is about the size of the ordinary hare. 
It does not run, but leaps ; is easily tamed, and largely 
hunted by the Indians for food and for its skin, which 
is of a durable quality. It swarms in the islands be- 
longing to Honduras, in the bay of the same name. 

Amono; the ferine animals found in Honduras is the 
Jaguar (Felis Onca^ L.). It is of a bright tawn}'' color, 
upper part of head striped with black, sides beautifully 
variegated with irregular black spots, breast and belly 
of a whitish color, seldom attacks men, and inhabits 
places almost inaccessible to human feet. Besides the 
jaguar we occasionally find also the Black Tiger {Felis 
Discolor)^ Avhich is much the fiercest animal of Hon- 
duras. It grows of large size, and is remarkable for 



Chap. XL] birds and animals. 195 

its strength. It often kills full-grown cattle, dragging 
them far in the woods ; and it does not hesitate, if irri- 
tated, to attack men. The Ocelot, or Tiger-cat (F. Par- 
dalis) resembles the common cat, but is much larger. 
It is timid, and seldom ventures from its hiding-places. 
It is valued for its skin. The Cougar, or Puma {F. 
Concolor) is also abundant, and is slender and graceful 
in form. It is usually called Leon (lion) by the na- 
tives. It is neither as powerful nor as fierce as the 
ounce or jaguar, and flies from the face of man. The 
Coyote, or indigenous wolf, is not uncommon. 

The interior of Honduras is rather deficient in birds, 
but they abound on the coasts and in the valleys of the 
principal rivers. The most celebrated is the Quetzal, 
which was the imperial bird of the Quiches. It is 
best known in the museums as the Trogan Besplen- 
dens, aiid is found only in the Mountains of Merendon, 
in Honduras, and the Department of Quezaltenango, 
in Guatemala. The Parrot abounds every where, of 
numerous varieties, and of the most vivid colors. The 
Guacamaya, or Macaw, red and blue, are numerous on 
both coasts, as is also the Toucan. The Yellow-tail 
(Cassicus Montezuma) soon becomes familiar to all 
voyagers on the rivers of Honduras. It is remarkable 
not less for its bright colors than its pendent nests, of 
which forty or fifty sometimes hang from the branches 
of a single tree. 

Among the Baptores, or birds of prey, are a variet}^ 
of Hawks, Vultures (including the common Buzzard or 
Zopilote\ Owls and Sea-eagles. The Crow, Blackbird, 
Mexican Jay, Pice-bird, Swallow, Pain-bird, Humming- 
bird (of numerous varieties), are also common. Of 
water-birds, the Pelican, Muscovy Duck, Black Duck, 
Curlew, Plover, Spoonbill, Teal, Darters, Herons, Ibises, 



196 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

Cranes, etc., are all found abundantly on the shores of 
the lagoons and rivers. The Wild Turkey, Curassow, 
Quam {Penelope Cristana\ Chachalaca, or indigenous 
hen, Mexican Partridge, Quail (in abundance), Snipe, 
and several varieties of Wood Pigeons and Doves, are 
most numerous in the interior country. 

The Alligator is found in all the lagoons and rivers 
on both coasts. It attains the size of fifteen feet in 
length. It avoids the neighborhood of man, and gen- 
erally abandons the streams as their banks become in- 
habited. Of the Lizard tribe there are infinite varieties. 
The most remarkable is the Iguana, which sometimes 
attains three and four feet in length. It is bluish 
gray in color, and lives almost exclusively on the blos- 
soms of trees. Its bite is painful, but not dangerous. 
The flesh is delicate and much valued. 

Serpents of several kinds are found both in Hondu- 
ras and San Salvador, but they are chiefly confined to 
the coasts. The common practice of burning the dry 
grass and withered vegetation of the interior during 
the dry season has almost had the effect of annihilat- 
ing this species of reptile. During a year spent in the 
state, and almost constantly occupied in the field, I do 
not remember to have seen more than four serpents, 
and only one of these (a corral) of a poisonous charac- 
ter. As we approach the coast, however, they become 
more numerous, but they are generally of harmless va- 
rieties. In respect to serpents of the coast, Messrs. 
Miiller and Hesse observe : 

" For the most part they are harmless, and they are seen by 
the natives in their houses rather with pleasure than alarm or dis- 
gust, since they are useful in the destruction of vermin. The 
harmless snakes have generally rounded spots on the head, an- 
gular marks under the tail and beUy, wliile the body is covered 



Chap. XI.] reptiles — serpents. 197 

with oval scales. The upper jaw, as in mammalia, is set for 
its entire length with sharp, wedge-shaped, solid teeth, and from 
the junction of the jaws springs another row. The under jaw 
is furnished in the same manner, so that, in opening the mouth, 
four rows of teeth are seen. The harmless snakes are, in gen- 
eral, long and slender in hodj, the head is handsomer, and the 
scales are smoother. In our journeys through the forests we 
observed several of these, and especially one large kind of hlu- 
ish-white color, which we v/ere unable to catch, as it disappeared 
rapidly when we approached it. This kind is named by the In- 
dians luoulah, and they say that, though it steals fowls, it de- 
stroys the smaller varieties of poisonous snakes. The venom- 
ous serpents are distinguished by a thicker body and shorter 
tail, a broad head covered with scales, and more especially by 
the poison-fangs, which are sharp, provided with a channel and 
an opening at the upper end, not at the top but at the side, for 
the exit of the j)oison. Behind these fangs lie several smaller 
teeth, but they are concealed in a fold of muscle. As we had 
no opportunity to see or investigate any such specimens, al- 
though the Indians, in hopes of reward, hunted several times 
in vain for us, we must content ourselves with repeating the or- 
dinary names in use there. There is the golden snake, the 
whip-snake, tamagas, and barber's pole. The two latter are the 
most dangerous, and their bite destroys life. According to ex- 
perience, the root of the guaco is a reliable remedy for the bite 
of a snake. It is found almost every where, especially on the 
island of Roatan. The number of serpents is perceptibly di- 
minished by the advance of cultivation." 

In addition to the snakes mentioned in this extract 
may be enumerated the rattlesnake, the ordinary black- 
snake, and the corral^ the last ranking with the tama- 
qasa in the deadly nature of its bite. It is of the most 
brilliant colors, covered with alternate rings of green, 
black, and red. It does not grow of large size, nor is 
it common. 

The Tortoise and Turtle are every where numerous, 



198 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

and of several kinds. The land turtle, chiefly of the 
species Tuhulata^ attains a foot in length. It has a dark 
shell, and is eaten in common with the sea tortoise, but 
is not regarded as of so good quality. The rivers 
abound in a species of turtle generally called Hicatee. 
It is smaller than the sea turtle, but inferior in no other 
respect. It attains a length of eighteen or twenty 
inches, and is remarkable for the depth of its shell. 
The varieties of sea turtle familiarly known as green 
turtle [Chelonia Midas) and hawk's-bill turtle {C. Ca- 
retta) are abundant on both coasts, and furnish a large 
supply of food, and a principal source of wealth to the 
Indians. From the variety known as hawk's-bill is 
taken the best tortoise-shell of commerce. There is still 
another species, which grows to larger size than either 
of those already enumerated, called the trunk turtle. 
Its flesh is not used, nor is its shell of good quality. 
A kind of oil, which is much valued, is extracted from 
this turtle, and, it is supposed, might be made a con- 
siderable article of trade. 

Oysters, of two varieties, are plentiful, viz., what is 
called the bank oyster, found in beds, and growing in 
clusters of ten or twelve each, and the small or man- 
grove oyster, which is generally found attached to the 
roots of the mangrove-trees which line the shores of all 
the creeks and lagoons. Both varieties are esteemed 
for food. Vast beds of the first-named species exist in 
the Bay of Fonseca (ante, p. 98). 

Crustacea of various kinds and sizes, from the largest 
lobster to the smallest crab, are most abundant. In 
particular, the mangrove crab {Grapsus Cruentatus), 
and the white and black land-crab {Gecarcinus), are 
very numerous in the lagoons and around the mouths 
of rivers. They constitute a very savory and nourish- 



Chap. XL] fishes — insects. ' 199 

ing food. Every half-rotten tree near the water is in- 
habited by countless thousands of soldier-crabs, which, 
at certain times of the year, migrate inland, and after- 
ward return to the sea. Conchs are numerous in all 
the cays off the northern coast, and especially on those 
around the islands of iloatan and Guanaja. 

Not only do all the lagoons and creeks of the coast 
abound in endless varieties of fish, but these swarm in 
all the rivers and lakes of the interior. In the sea may 
be found the Kock-fish {Lahrax Lineatus\ Hog-fish (ZZe- 
lops\ King-fish {Umbrina Alhicrnus), Baracouta [Sphy- 
roena Baracuda\ Parrot-fish [Tetrodon?)^ Grouper [Ser- 
ranus), red and black Snapper [Coracinus), Porgee 
{Sargus), Shad (Alosa), Gar-fish, Sword-fish, Porpoise, 
Flounder, etc. In the lagoons, the Jew-fish, Sheep's- 
head, Snook [Macrocephalus)^ Mud-fish, Mullet, Cala- 
paver (Mugil), Mackerel, Drummer, Grunt, Eel, Cat- 
fish, etc. In the rivers the Mountain Mullet and Cat- 
fish are most numerous. The Shark abounds on both 
coasts. 

A species of vine {Scqnndus Saponaria) grows abund- 
antly in the river valleys, which is often used by the 
natives for poisoning, or, rather, stupefying the fish of 
the streams. It is pounded, infused in water, and then 
poured in the stream, causing the fish to rise helplessly 
to the surface, when they are easily taken by hand. If 
allowed to remain in the water, they soon recover from 
the efi'ects of the intoxication. 

Honey-bees exist in Honduras of several varieties. 
One {Apis Pcdlida) is small, light-colored, and sting- 
less. There is another species, found in the mountain 
districts, which is indistinguishable from the common 
\ioney-bee of the United States. The honey is largely 
ised by the natives, who draw a principal part of the 



200 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

wax used in the ceremonies of the Roman Church from 
the natural bee-hives of the forests. 

The absence of mosquitoes throughout Honduras and 
San Salvador generally is worthy of remark, since it 
is commonly supposed that this insect is one of the 
principal pests of the country. It is almost unknown 
in the interior districts, and only found at a few points 
on the coasts. Their almost total absence around the 
Bay of Fonseca is one of the best evidences of the ab- 
sence of pestilential marshes and lagoons in its vicinity. 
The flea is common every where, and a source of in- 
finite annoyance. The agarrapata^ or wood-tick, is 
abundant on the low grounds, and particularly in sec- 
tions frequented by herds of cattle. They are readily 
removed from the person by balls of soft wax, which 
every traveler carries for that purpose. The chigoe^ ni- 
qua^ or jigger^ a small black flea, which attacks the 
feet and burrows under the skin, causing irritating 
sores, is scarcely known upon the Pacific coast. It is 
nevertheless found upon the northern coast, but rarely 
attacks persons who preserve proper cleanliness of per- 
son. Among spiders the tarantula may be enumerated, 
but it is not often seen. A species called arana de 
cavallo I have already mentioned as sometimes attack- 
ing the feet of horses. Among beetles, the elephant 
beetle is remarkable for its size. At night the neigh- 
borhood of the coasts is sprinkled with fire-fly stars of 
great brilliance and beauty. Scorpions are found every 
where, in greater or less abundance ; but it is only the 
sting of the alacran del inonte, wild, or forest scor- 
pion, which is to be greatly dreaded. The house scor- 
pion is largest, but pale in color, and its sting is far 
less virulent, corresponding nearly with that of the 
common wasp. The centipede {Scolo2^endra Morsi- 



Chap. XL] chapulin or langosta. 201 

tans) attains, on the nortli coast, a length of six or 
seven inches. Its head bears a pair of strong nippers, 
and it moves upon twenty divisions of the body, to 
each of which are attached two feet. It is often found 
in dwelling-houses, but is not to be feared. 

The insect, however, which is most dreaded in Hon- 
duras, as indeed in all Central America, is the Larir 
gosta or Chapulin^ a species of grasshopper or locust, 
which at intervals afflicts the entire countr}^, passing 
from one end to the other in vast columns of many 
millions, literally darkening the air, and destroying 
every green thing in their course. I once rode through 
one of these columns which was fully ten miles in 
width. Not only did the insects cover the ground, 
rising in clouds on each side of the mule-path as I ad- 
vanced, but the open pine forest was brown with their 
m}Tiad bodies, as if the trees had been seared with fire, 
while the air was filled with them, as it is with falling 
flakes in a snow-storm. Their course is always from 
south to north. They make their first appearance as 
saltones, of diminutive size, red bodies, and wingless, 
when they swarm over the ground like ants. At this 
time A'ast numbers of them are killed by the natives, 
who dig long trenches, two or three feet deep, and drive 
the saltones into them. Unable to leap out, the trench 
soon becomes half filled with the young insects, when 
the earth is shoveled back, and they are thus buried 
and destroyed. They are often driven, in this way, 
into the rivers and drowned. Various expedients are 
resorted to by the owners of plantations to prevent the 
passing columns from alighting. Sulphur is burned 
in the fields, guns are fired, drums beaten, and every 
mode of making a noise put in requisition for the pur- 
pose. In this mode detached plantations are often 



202 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI. 

saved. But when the columns once alight, no device 
can avail to rescue them from speedy desolation. In 
a single hour, the largest maize-fields are stripped of 
their leaves, and only the stems are left to indicate that 
they once existed. 

It is said that the Chapulin makes its appearance 
at the end of periods of about fifty years, and that it 
then prevails for from five to seven years, when it en- 
tirely disappears. But its habits have never been stud- 
ied with care, and I am unprepared to affirm any thing 
in these respects. Its ordinary size is from two and a 
half to four inches in length, but it sometimes grows 
to the length of five inches. 



Chap. XII.] aboriginal inhabitants. 203 



CHAPTER XII. 

EXISTING ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS THE XICAQUES, PAY- 
AS, SAMBOS, AND CARIES. 

T HAVE elsewhere said that the Indian or aborig- 
-*- inal element predominates in the population of 
Central Amerida. The population of Honduras forms 
no exception to this remark ; and in some districts of 
the state it is difficult to say if the whites have assim- 
ilated most to the Indians in habits of life, or the In- 
dians most to the whites. In the eastern portion of 
the state, within the district which lies between the 
Rio Roman and the Cape or Segovia River, an area 
of not less than 15,000 square miles, the country is 
almost exclusively occupied by native tribes, known 
under the general names of Xicaques and Payas. Por- 
tions of all these tribes have accepted the Catholic re- 
ligion, and live in peaceable neighborhood and good 
understanding with the white inhabitants. The large 
town of Catacamas, and some other towns of less note 
in the vicinity of Juticalpa, in Olancho, are exclusively 
inhabited by Christianized Payas and Xicaque Indians. 
But, apart from these, there are considerable numbers 
who live among the mountains, and who conform more 
closely to their original modes of life. Yet they also 
are peaceful, and their relationship with the Spaniards 
is entirely friendly. They bring down sarsaparilla, 
deer-skins, dragon's-blood, and other articles, including 
a little gold washed from the sands of the mountain 
streams, and exchange them for such articles of civil- 



204 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

ized manufacture as their wants require. They tacitly 
recQO'nize the authority of the government, which, how- 
ever, does not interfere with the simple patriarchal sys- 
tem which they keep up for their organization. Oc- 
casionally small parties come down to the coast to 
work in the mahogany establishments. When their 
engagements are completed, they quickly return to their 
homes. 

At the time of the discovery, these Indians were 
found to be, in respect of civilization, far below the 
Quiches, Kachiquels, and Nahuals, wHo occupied the 
plateaus of Guatemala, San Salvador, and the western 
part of Honduras. But they were, at the "same time, 
greatly in advance of the roving fisher-tribes who dwelt 
on the low shores of the Caribbean, now called the 
Mosquito Coast. They were at first intractable, and, 
favored by the physical conditions of their country, for 
a long time obstinately resisted the attempts of the 
Spaniards to reduce them to their sway; but subse- 
quently, when the general settlement of the country to 
the westward had been eifected, and the j^ower of the 
Spaniards came to be better ajDpreciated, a friendly 
understanding sprung up, which has not been disturbed 
for many years. 

The names Xicaques and Payas may be regarded as 
general designations. The Toacas or Toiokas^ some of 
whom live on the banks of the Hio Patuca, and the Se- 
cos, found on Pio Tinto, or Black Piver, probably be- 
long to the Payas. They are described by Young, who 
visited them, as having "long black hair hanging over 
their shoulders, very broad faces, small eyes, with a pe- 
culiar expression of sadness and docility, which prepos- 
sesses the beholder in their favor." 

" Tliey are short," he continues, " but remarkalDly strong, and 



Chap. Xll.] Indian population. 205 

capable of caiTying heavy burdens over the rocky passes of 
their steep mountains without appearing to suffer much fatigue. 
Their character for faith and honesty stands high ; but, like all 
other savage tribes, they have a great fondness for spirituous 
liquors. They bring for sale sarsaparilla, cacao, pimiento, Idn- 
kooras, several sorts of bread kind, fowls, turkeys, ducks, etc., 
and receive in return iron pots, knives, machetes^ powder, shot, 
beads, and similar articles of use and ornament. * * In charac- 
ter they are mild and inoifensive. They are industrious, and 
skillful in manufacturing from their wild cotton a sort of cloak 
called kinkoora, which, being dyed according to some device, and 
the down of birds interwoven in the fabric, has a very pleasing 
appearance. * * At the present day, the grossest superstitions 
exist among the Poyers, and their idolatrous feasts are as com- 
mon as ever ; but their savage character has disappeared, for they 
are now a mild and peaceable race, having tact and ingenuity in 
their little manufactures which would puzzle a machine-loving 
European. * * There is another class of Poyer Indians much 
lower in civilization. They are termed wild Indians, for, like 
the Arabs, they wander to and fro as they list, making planta- 
tions which, in the course of a certain number of moons, they re- 
visit to gather the fruit. They collect honey, vegetable dyes, sar- 
saparilla, etc., which they sell to their more civilized brethren for 
hooks, harpoons, lance-heads, knives, and other articles. They 
have no intercourse with the Sambos on the coast, and it is only 
because they can not do without such things as I have enumer- 
ated that they visit the Poyer \411ages. * * The Indians liv- 
ing on the banks of the Seco River, and called Secos, have much 
the same character as the Poyers. 

"The Towcas {^Toacas, Thuacos, or Juacos] are remarkable 
for their industry and inoifensive character. They are generally 
a finer race of men than either the Poyers or Secos. They speak 
at all times low and with great ease, and have an air of gentle- 
ness and melancholy. They sound the letter s in almost every 
word. They are celebrated for their skill in making dorys and 
pitpans. Their principal residence is near the head of Patook 
(Patuca) River. * * The Towcas, like the other tribes, have a 
great character for faith and probity, and are equally famed for 



206 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

carrying heavy burdens. They are very dexterous in shooting 
birds on the wing with their bows and arrows, and are well 
suited for any thing requiring sagacity and endurance. It is 
astonishing to observe liow little value they put on their labor. 
For instance, they will sell a dory or pitpan for one axe and a 
machete, or two iron pots, and so on, notwithstanding the im- 
mense time which they expend in making them." 

Young visited a Poyer or Payas village on one of 
the tributaries of Black River, of which lie has given 
us the subjoined account. It illustrates the condition 
and mode of life of these Indians in general. 

" The Indian town, to my astonishment, was comprised in 
one large house of an oval form, about 85 feet in length and 35 
feet wide, in which all the natives resided truly in the patriarchal 
style. Crickeries were erected all around, close to each other, 
separated by two or three cabbage boards, each family having 
one of these compartments. At one side of the house a place 
was divided off, about sixteen feet by ten feet, and hidden from 
view by green leaves, which were replenished as fast as they 
faded. In this place the women are kept during their confine- 
ment, and, after a few days, they are again able to attend to their 
multifarious duties. On our entrance, the women were busily 
occupied, some pounding cassada and Indian corn together, boil- 
ing it, and making it into a beverage called oulung ; some pre- 
paring cassada for bread in the morning ; others making tour- 
nous ; others, again, rubbing cacao and squeezing sugar-cane : 
in tmth, the whole body of them were most busily employed, 
under the management of the chief's wife, the chief, who is called 
by the English name of officer;, being absent. We were looked 
upon with a quiet sort of wonder, the women merely gazing for 
a few minutes upon the white men, of whom, perhaps, they had 
lieard much, and then they resumed their pounding, boiling, and 
beating. The oulung is a beverage not to be despised on a 
warm day by those who do not mind a particularly sour taste. 
After the second time of tasting it, I sought it with pleasure. 
Their bread, too, is sour, but even that I relished. It is made 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 207 

of pounded cassada into rolls about fifteen or sixteen inches in 
length, and about the thickness of a man's wrist. It is then 
wrapped round with several layers of leaves, and slowly barba- 
cued until done. When eaten fresh, it is good, the sour taste 
being acquired by keeping. The house is thatched in a very 
neat manner with swallow-tail leaf to about four feet from the 
ground, so that the rain, however violent, does not trouble them. 
They arc noted for cleanliness. The situation was well chosen, 
and a few yards from the house, down a steep pass, was a stream 
of water, forming innumerable cascades as it ran leapiiig and 
dashino; over the hu2;e blocks of stone with which it abounded. 
Here, as Ave sat, our ears drank in delight at the soothing sound 
of the water, and we beheld with extreme gratification the ver- 
dant hills, the rich plumage of birds as they flew by, and heard 
the chattering monkeys filling the wood with their noise. I ob- 
served around the house numerous fowls, a few Muscovy ducks, 
turkeys, and pigs ; and they can, in general, obtain game by a 
Httle exertion in hunting. The peccary, which inhabits high 
and dry places, often falls here before the superior dexterity and 
cunning of man. Waree are not found on the Poyer Mountains, 
so that the Indians sometimes form a party, and descend to one 
of the hunting passes in the Black River, or such places as they 
are known to frequent. Very few of them have gams ; they 
merely go armed with a lance and bow and arrow, and they 
rarely return without a noble supply of barbacued meat. After 
partaking of a couple of fowls, some cassada and plantains, ca- 
cao, and boiled cane-juice, prepared for us by these kind people, 
we betook ourselves to repose. Early in the morning, while in 
my hammock, an Indian woman timidly touched me, saying 
' Englis,' at the same time presenting me with a hot roll of bread, 
nicely done up in fresh leaves ; another soon came to me with 
a bundle of oulung, and so it continued until I had three or four 
bundles of oulung, and nine large rolls of bread. In return, I 
presented them Avith a little tobacco, some needles, and salt, and 
gave a clasp knife to tlie officer's wife. Soon after, I Avas agree- 
ably sui-})riscd by several of the men arriving from the planta- 
tions loaded Avith sugar-cane, plantains, cacao, etc., Avhich we 
very willingly received in exchange for a fcAv hooks, needles, etc. 



208 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

On inquiry, I learned that there was another town about fifteen 
miles off, judging from the rate they travel in an hour, and in the 
route to the Spanish country. Before our departure, a number 
of Indians came from the neighboring town, having been ap- 
prised of our arrival, bringing sarsaparilla to trade with for Os- 
naburg ; but we not having that, or cloth of any kind, they were 
compelled to carry their heavy burdens back." 

The coast around Carataska Lagoon, and as far to 
the westward as Brewer's or Brus Lagoon, was for 
many years occupied by 'Sambos, corresponding gener- 
ally in character with those of the Mosquito Shore. 
But the Caribs, spreading rapidly eastward from Trux- 
illo and Black Biver, have now nearly displaced them, 
and driven them to the southward of Cape Gracias a 
Dios, into what is called the Mosquito Territory. 

These Sambos or Mosquitos are a mixed race of ne- 
groes and Indians. It seems that early in the seven- 
teenth century a large slaver was driven ashore not far 
from Cape Gracias. The negroes escaped, and although 
ut first they encountered hostility from the Indians, 
they finally made peace, and intermixed with them. 
The buccaneers had their haunts among them during 
the period of their domination in the Caribbean Sea, 
and bequeathed to them a code of morality, which sub- 
sequent relations with smugglers and traders have not 
contributed to improve. The negro element was aug- 
mented from time to time by runaway slaves (cimar- 
rones) from the Spanish settlement, and by the slaves 
brought from Jamaica by the planters Avho attempted 
to establish themselves on the coast during the early 
part of the last century. 

The Sambos were fostered by the royal governors of 
Jamaica during the wars with Spain as a means of an- 
noyance to the Spaniards,- and with the ultimate pur- 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 209 

pose of obtaining possession of their country. Gov- 
ernor Trelawney, in 1740, procured from some of the 
chiefs a cession of the entire shore to the British crown, 
which act was followed up by the appointment of a 
governor or superintendent, the erection of forts, and 
other evidences and acts of occupation and sovereignty. 
The pretensions thus set up were nevertheless formal- 
ly and fully relinquished by subsequent treaties with 
Spain, which provided for the destruction of the En- 
glish forts, and the unqualified abandonment of the 
shore. Nor were these pretensions renewed so long as 
Spain retained her power in America. It was not un- 
til her dominion was succeeded by the feeble sovereign- 
ty of the Spanish American republics that the tradition- 
ary policy of Great Britain on the Mosquito Shore 
was revived. Its revival has led to that singular com- 
plication which is now familiar to the public as "the 
Mosquito question. " 

The relations of the Sambos, first with the bucca- 
neers, and subsequently with the English, by supply- 
ing: them Avith fire-arms and other means of a2:2fression, 
made them formidable to the neis-hborino; Indian tribes. 
They often left the creeks and lagoons of the shore, 
and, going up the various rivers, made descents on the 
Indian towns on their banks, carrying off the inhabit- 
ants to be sold as slaves. For many years an active 
traffic was thus kept up with Jamaica. As a conse- 
quence, the Indian towns nearest the coast, and most 
exposed to these incursions, were either abandoned en- 
tirely, or their inhabitants purchased security from at- 
tack by annual presents of boats, skins, and other pro- 
ducts of their country to the piratical Sambos. 

But with the decline and final suppression of the 
traffic in Indian slaves, the IMosquito Sambos have lost 

O 



210 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

much of their activity, and have surrendered themselves 
more and more to their besetting vice of drunkenness, 
which, operating on constitutions radically tainted and 
weakened by unrestrained licentiousness, is hastening 
their utter extinction. 

As I have said, the increase and expansion of the 
Caribs have already driven most of the Sambos, who 
were established to the northward and westward of 
Cape Gracias a Dios, into the territory of Nicaragua, 
southward of the Cape. As the whole Mosquito pop- 
ulation does not probably exceed six or seven thou- 
sand, it follows that the proportion which remains in 
Honduras is insignificant. All accounts concur in 
drawing a wide distinction between the Sambos and 
Indians proper, which is little to the advantage of the 
former. 

" The difference between the Sambos and Indians," says 
Young, " is very striking. The former are of all shades of col- 
or, from the copper of the Indian to the dark hue of the negro, 
their hair being more or less woolly as they approximate to the 
latter. They are, in general, well proportioned and active, but 
more capable of undergoing privations than the fatigue of hard 
labor. * * They ornament their faces by laying on large daubs 
of red and black paint. * * Their fondness for liquor is excess- 
ive, and from this they suffer gTcat calamities, for, having once 
commenced to drink, they go on till they fall down in a helpless 
state of intoxication, and lie exposed to the heavy dews or pour- 
ing rain. Their bodies are wasted by fearfal disorders, which 
eventually carry them off : this is one cause of the gradual de- 
crease of population. * * They do not appear to have any idea 
of a Supreme Being, but many who have at various times been 
at Belize know the meaning of God, and often say, ' Please God' 
so and so ; or, if they wish to be implicitly believed, they will 
gravely say, ' God swears.' They have an implicit belief in an 
Evil Spirit, whom they call Oulasser, and of whom they are in 
much fear, and after sunset a Sambo will not go out alone, lent 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 211 

Oulasscr sliould cany liim awaj. They also much dread a wa- 
ter spirit, whom thej call Lewire. * * The men are naturally 
apathetic and indolent when not excited by liquor, hunting, or 
fishing, and, as they have no notions of morality to hinder them 
from indulging their desires, we need not wonder that chastity 
is not considered a virtue. Polygamy is common among them. 
* * Their children are often interesting, and the nearer the child 
is in blood to the Indians, the handsomer and clearer becomes 
the skin, the features, however, being more pleasing the closer 
the child approaches to the Sambo. Ugly children are rarely 
found, and deformed ones never ; hence it is to be feared that 
they have the practice of destroying the latter at their bu-th. * * 
The Sambos count with their fingers and toes, reckon their days 
by sleeps, and months by moons. Their dwellings are quickly 
made. They have no divisions in their huts, but sleep on crick- 
eries, which are formed of posts four or five feet high, driven in 
the ground, pieces of split bamboo being laid on top. Their 
whole household property consists of a few iron pots, wooden 
bowls, spoons, and stools, calabashes and gourds for water, a few 
small oics/mers, striking stafi's, hai-poons, etc., with here and 
there a gun, and some rudely-shaped moccasins hanging up, and 
generally a few bunches of plantains or bananas tied to the ridge- 
pole. * * Whatever may be charged against the Sambos, such 
as petty thieving, indolence, and drunkenness, very few crimes of 
flagi-ant enormity are committed, although they are living with- 
out religion, and with but few laws. * * I have had no means 
of ascertaining what the numbers of the Sambos now (1839) are. 
It has been calculated lately that the whole population [includ- 
ed in what is called the Mosquito Shore] does not exceed 8000, as 
they have been decreasing for many years, although gradually 
approaching civiHzation. The Sambos at the Cape and south- 
ward of it are generally a finer race than those to the northward 
and eastward. * * The Mosquitos of the present day, I tliink, 
have degenerated, the causes being the gi-eat increase of drunk- 
enness, and the want of good chiefs to stimulate them ; and such 
is their degraded condition, that in a few generations there wiU 
be few left to tell the tale of their existence. - The white man 
advancing one way, and the Caribs, with their rapidly-spreading 



212 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

population increasing in another, will evidently sweep the Indian 
from his native haunts, and civilization will extend its arms and 
embrace a shore which has been for ages in a state of blind su- 
perstition and ignorance. 

Besides the native Indians and Sambos, there is an- 
other and very active element in the population of 
Honduras, viz., the Caribs. The history of their es- 
tablishment in the country is alike curious and interest- 
ing. They constitute all that remains of the aboriginal 
inhabitants of San Vincent, one of the Leeward Islands. 
Durine; the contests between the French and Eno;lish 
for the possession of the smaller islands of the Antilles, 
the Caribs of San Vincent were almost invariably 
attached to the French interest, and gave so much 
trouble to the English authorities and inhabitants that, 
after many contests and much bloodshed, they were 
finally, in 1796, carried e7i onasse, to the number of up- 
ward of five thousand, to the then deserted island of 
Roatan, in the Bay of Honduras. The cost of the de- 
portation was not much less than $5, 000, 000 ! A few 
months afterward, they were invited to the main land 
by the Spanish, authorities, who aided them in found- 
ing various establishments on the coast, in the vicinity 
of Truxillo. Since that time they have increased rap- 
idly, and greatly extended their settlements, both to the 
eastward and westward of that port. In 1832, a por- 
tion of them were induced to take part in the ill-advised 
attempt of some emissaries of Spain to subvert the re- 
publican government. The attempt was unsuccessful, 
and, in Omoa and elsewhere, resulted in the severe pun- 
ishment of those who had become implicated. A por- 
tion of the latter escaped to a place called Stann Creek, 
in the alleged jurisdiction of Belize, where they made a 
temporary establishment ; but an amnesty was after- 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 213 

ward granted, since which time most of the fugitives 
have returned to their former seats. 

When San Vincent was first visited by Europeans, 
it was found in possession of two distinct families of 
natives, who had a common language, but differed wide- 
ly in color and in modes of life. These were respect- 
ively called the Black and Yellow Caribs, and the natu- 
ral jealousies between them were often fomented by the 
whites into open and exterminating hostilities. When, 
however, the deportation took place in 1796, the feeble 
remnants on both sides had been forced into friendly 
relationship by the weight of common misfortunes. 
The fusion of blood, nevertheless, had not been suffi- 
ciently great to obliterate the original distinctions of 
color, which are to be observed to this day. It has 
been supposed that these distinctions were produced, in 
the same manner that corresponding changes were 
caused on the Mosquito Shore, by the infusion of negro 
blood. It is said that some time about 1675, a Guinea 
slaver was foundered on one of the small islands in the 
neighborhood of San Vincent, and that the negroes who 
escaped mingled with the natives, originating what 
were afterward called the Black Caribs. Subsequent 
differences arose between these and the pure Caribs, 
which led to a division of the island, in which relation 
they were found by the Europeans. This explanation 
seems probable, for the presence of negro blood in the 
Black Caribs is evident and paljDable. They are taller 
and stouter than the pure Caribs, and more mercurial 
and vehement. The latter are short, but powerfully 
built. Both are active, industrious, and provident, ex- 
hibiting in these, as, indeed, in most other respects, de- 
cided contrasts with the Sambos of the Mosquito Shore. 
They are far more civilized in their habits, living in 



214: REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

well-constructed huts, which are kept clean and com- 
fortable. They still retain their original language, 
which is the true Carib of the islands, although most, 
if not all of them, speak Spanish, as well as a little 
English. 

They profess and jDractice the Catholic religion, yet 
preserve many of their native rites and superstitions. 
Altogether, they constitute a good and useful laboring 
population, and form the chief reliance of the mahog- 
any-cutters on the coast. They supply Omoa and Trux- 
illo, as also Belize in part, with vegetables and fresh 
provisions, and are the chief collectors of skins, sarsa- 
parilla, and other articles exported from Honduras. 
Intelligent, faithful, inured to the climate, and, more- 
over, expert in the use of the axe, and with some knowl- 
edge of the building of roads and bridges, they must 
prove of the greatest service in the future development 
of the vast resources of that country, and of the utmost 
importance in the construction of the proposed rail- 
way between the seas. It is calculated that there are 
among them fully three thousand men more or less in- 
structed in precisely the kind of work required in the 
prosecution of the enterprise referred to, and whose la- 
bor may be procured for a reasonable compensation. 

All travelers concur in awarding high praise to the 
Caribs (called, Kharibees by Roberts) of Honduras. 
Young says of them : 

"They are peaceable, friendly, ingenious, and industrious. 
They are noted for their fondness for dress, wearing red bands 
around their waists to imitate sashes, straw hats knowingly 
turned up, clean white shirts and frocks, long and tight trow- 
sers, and, with an umbrella or cane in hand, have an air of great 
satisfaction with themselves. The Carib women are fond of or- 
namenting their persons with colored beads strung in various 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 215 

forms. When bringing the products of their plantations for 
sale, they appear dressed in calico bodices and livelj-patterned 
skirts, with handkerchiefs tied around their heads, and suffered 
to fall negligently behind. * * The Caribs can not be con- 
sidered a handsome race, but they are hardy and athletic. The 
difference in their color is remarkable, some being coal-black, 
and others nearly as yellow as safiron. They are scrupulously 
clean, and have a gi-eat aptitude for acquiring languages, most 
of them being able to talk in Carib, Spanish, and EngKsh ; some 
even add Creole-French and IMosquito. * * * Polygamy is 
general among them, some of them having as many as three or 
four wives ; but the husband is compelled to have a separate 
house and plantation for each, and, if he make one a present, 
he must make the others one of the same value ; and he must 
also divide his time equally among them — a week with one, a 
week with another, and so on. When a Carib takes a wife, he 
fells a plantation and builds a house ; the wife then takes the 
management, and he becomes gentleman at large until the fol- 
lowing year, when another plantation has to be cleared. The 
wife attends these plantations "with great care, perseverance, and 
skill, and, in the coui'se of twelve or fifteen months, has every 
description of bread-kind in use among them ; and, as the prod- 
ucts are entirely her own, she only keeps sufficient at home for 
her husband and family, and disposes of the rest to purchase 
clothes and other necessaries. Just before Christmas, the wom- 
en engage several creers, freight them with rice, beans, yams, 
plantains, etc., for Truxillo and Belize, and hire their husbands 
and others as sailors. It is the custom, when a woman can not 
do all the work required on the plantation, for her to hire her 
liusband, and pay ]iim two dollars per week. The women trav- 
el considerable distances to their plantations, and carry their 
productions in a kind of wicker-basket. I have known them 
walk from far beyond ]Monkey-apple town to Fort Wellington, 
a distance of forty miles, to exchange their baskets of provisions 
for salt, calico, etc. J\Ien accompany them on their trading ex- 
cursions, but never, by any chance, carry the burdens, thinking 
it far beneath them. In the dry seasons, the women collect fire- 
wood, which they stack in sheltered places, to be ready for the 



216 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

wet norths. Industiy and forethought are peculiar traits of 
character in Carib women, consequently they easily surround 
themselves with necessaries and comforts. The men can hew 
and plant, hunt and fish, erect a comfortable house, build a good 
boat, make the sails, etc. Some are capital tailors, and others 
are good carpenters ; altogether, there can not be a more useful 
body of men. They often go to the various mahogany-works 
around Koman River, Limas Eiver, Truxillo, or Belize, and hire 
themselves as mahogany-cutters, for which, by their strength 
and activity, they are well fitted. They hire for five or six 
months, sometimes longer, for eight to twelve dollars per month 
and rations. I have known some Caribs of superior manual 
power, and who understood the whole routine of mahogany-cut- 
ting, obtain as much as fifteen and sixteen dollars a month. 
On the expiration of their engagement they return to their homes, 
laden with useful articles, and invariably w^ell dressed. I saw 
a Carib belonging to Cape Town that had just returned from 
Belize, who sported a pair of cloth boots, a white hat, black coat, 
white trowsers, a fancy-colored shirt, a pair of splendid braces, 
and an umbrella. His coat happened to be an extremely tight 
fit, and, as he appeared to be very uncomfortable, we asked him 
to cut up a pine-apple, which, after several vigorous efforts, he 
succeeded in accomplishing. 

" The Caribs grow the Bourbon sugar-cane, and they declare 
that the soil is well adapted for its cultivation ; I have myself 
seen it sixteen feet in height, and thick in proportion, from the 
plantation of Captain Samboler, at Zachary Lyon River. To- 
bacco is now grown in small quantities by the Caribs, and also 
by the Mosquitians at Patook, but they have not yet discovered 
the proper method of drying ; the tobacco of the one tribe tastes 
like dried hay, and that of the other is so strong as to occasion 
bad symptoms to those unaccustomed to its use. If the proper 
method of preparing tobacco were practiced, it might become an 
article of exportation. In the interior, among the Spaniards, a 
large quantity is produced, and conveyed on the backs of mules 
to Truxillo for sale. Some of the superior sort is made into 
"puros," twelve of which can be had for fivepence ciirrency; 
and three dozen cigaritos for the same price. Their best to- 



Chap. XII.] Indian population. 217 

bacco is not to "be compared in flavor to that from Havana, in 
consequence of the mode of damping and drying practiced by the 
Central Americans, but it is equal in point of quality and size. 
The Carib houses are all exceedingly well built, the posts be- 
ing of iron-wood, subah, etc. ; the rafters and beams of Santa 
Maria ; the thatch, swallow-tail or cahoon, and wattled with cab- 
bage boards ; they have apertures made for windows with shut- 
ters, which are closed in the evening with much care, to prevent 
the admission of the land wind. The Carib houses being open 
to the sea-breeze, and always closed against the land wind, is 
no doubt the main reason of the healthiness of their towns ; 
much, however, is attributable to their cleanliness, and the plen- 
ty in which they live. 

"The old people are supported by their sons or other rela- 
tives, and are treated and spoken of with much respect, the chil- 
dren seeming to vie with each other in testifying their affection. 
At every Carib town numerous pigs and fowls, belonging to the 
women, are indiscriminately running about, for the people prefer 
making plantations, sometimes as far as five miles from the town, 
to stying up the hogs, which they would be obliged to do if 
their plantations were close at hand, as the pigs, in their peram- 
bulations, would find them out, and do much mischief. These 
hogs, when fattened, are sent to Tru_xillo and other places for 
sale." 

In the departments of Gracias, Comayagua, and Cho- 
luteca there are a number of purely Indian towns, in 
which the inhabitants retain their ancient language 
and many of their primitive habits. The cluster of 
villages in the Mountains of San Juan, to the south- 
west of Comayagua, viz., Guajiquero, Opotero, Simili- 
ton, Cacauterique, etc., as also a number of others 
among the Mountains of Lepatcrique, viz., Aguanque- 
teriquc, Lauterique, Cururu, Texiguat, etc., are all 
purely Indian towns. Their population is industri- 
ous, provident, and peaceable. The elevated districts 
which they occupy enable them to cultivate wheat, po- 



218 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. XII. 

tatoes, and other products of higher latitudes, which 
they carry for sale to large distances. The traveler 
meets them in the most secluded and difficult passes, 
patiently pursuing their journeys, and never speaking 
unless first addressed. They almost invariably carry 
their bows with them, but only for protection against 
wild beasts. Their present abodes among the mount- 
ains do not appear to have been their original seats, 
but to have been forced upon them by the gradual 
usurpation of their lands by the whites, or chosen to 
avoid a contact which they disliked. They are, never- 
theless, exceedingly jealous of their rugged retreats, 
and are never excited except by some encroachment, 
real or fancied, upon the limits of the lands pertaining 
to their respective towns. They all profess the Cath- 
olic religion, but their forms of worship, and especially 
their music, are strongly impressed with aboriginal 
characteristics. 

The existing Indian element in Honduras, left to 
itself, promises little or nothing for the development 
of the country ; yet, Avith the introduction of an intel- 
ligent and enterprising j)eople, their industry may 
probably be turned to good account. Frugal, patient, 
and docile, they have many of the best qualities of a 
valuable laboring population, and only lack direction 
to become an important means in the physical regen- 
eration of the country." The Caribs certainly have 
shown great capacity for improvement, and at their 
present rate of increase must always be able to supply 
every industrial demand which may be created on the 
northern coast, where the climate is least favorable for 
the introduction of foreign labor. 



Chap. XIII.] political organization. 219 



CHAPTER XIII. 

political organization constitution RELIGION ED- 
UCATION INDUSTRY REVENUES CURRENCY FUTURE 

PROSPECTS. 

'T^HE dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central 
-*~ America in 1838 left the various states which had 
composed it in a singular and anomalous position. 
Some of them, including Honduras, still adhered to the 
idea of nationality, and while, in fact, exercising all the 
powers of distinct sovereignties, they carefully avoided 
taking the title. They called themselves States, and 
named their his-hest executive officers "chiefs" or "di- 
rectors." They supplied the want of a common or 
national constitution by means of treaties of alliance 
and friendship, which, in certain contingencies, bound 
them to support each other by force of arms. 

The three central or liberal states, Honduras, San 
Salvador, and Nicaragua, nevertheless cherished the 
hope of reconstructing the confederation, and exerted 
themselves to procure the concurrence of Guatemala 
and Costa Rica. To this end a national convention 
was called in 1842, and subsequently another in 184:7; 
but, from the neglect or refusal of the states last named 
to send delegates, as also from the difficulty of defining 
satisfactorily the relative powers of the allied states 
themselves, the attempts at union failed. 

Finally, abandoning the hope of inducing Guatemala 
and Costa Rica to enter into the proposed new federal 
republic, the central states, in 1849, sent commission- 



220 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

ers to Leon, in Nicaragua, where they agreed upon a 
basis of union or pact, under the title of the "National 
Representation of Central America." This pact was 
unanimously ratified by the people of the several states 
in their primary capacity, and delegates were chosen, 
in accordance with its provisions, to frame a national 
constitution on the principles laid down in its articles. 
This constituent assembly met in the city of Teguci- 
galpa, in Honduras, in the autumn of 1852, and pro- 
ceeded to the discharge of its duties. But, meantime, 
the reactionary element in Guatemala had brought 
such influences to bear upon the government of San 
Salvador as to induce it to withdraw its delegates from 
the convention. This example was soon after fol- 
lowed by the government of Nicaragua, and, as a con- 
sequence, the assembly was broken ujo.* To Hondu- 
ras, therefore, remains the honor of having adhered to 
the principle of union and nationality to the last mo- 
ment : 

" Faithful among the faithless found !" 

Since that event, both Nicaragua and San Salvador 
have assumed the name of republics ; and although 
this step has not been taken by Honduras, that state 
may nevertheless be regarded as a distinct nationality. 
Its constitution, framed in 1848, "in the name of the 
Eternal Being, the Omnipotent Author and Supreme 
Legislator of the Universe," is thoroughly republican 
in its provisions. The Declaration of the Rights and 
Duties of the People sets forth that 

Sovereignty is inalienable and imprescriptible, lim- 
ited to the welfare and convenience of society, -and no 

' * For an " Outline of the Political History of Central America^ including tho 
history of Honduras, see my work, " Nicaragua, its People, etc.," vol. ii., p. 
365-453. 



Chap. XIII.] constitution. 221 

fraction of the people, rior can individuals exercise it, 
except in conformity with laws established by the gen- 
eral consent. All power emanates from the j)eoplc, 
and all public functionaries are their delegates and 
agents, but only to the extent defined by written con- 
•stitutions, or decreed by laws framed in conformity with 
them. Such functionaries are furthermore amenable, 
even with their lives, to the people, who have intrusted 
them with power, for its faithful discharge. All the 
inhabitants of the state have the indisputable right of 
life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the acquire- 
ment and disposition of property, in modes not detri- 
mental to the rights and well-being of others. They 
are, at the same time, obliged to respect and obey the 
laws, and to contribute, to the just proportion of their 
means, in support of the expenses of government, not 
less than with their lives, if necessary to the service 
and defense of their country. Armies can only exist 
for the public protection and defense of the state, and 
no member of the army, while in active service, is eli- 
gible to the office of president, senator, or deputy. The 
press is free, and every citizen may write and publish, 
without censorship or hinderance, amenable only to the 
laws for the abuse of his privileges. No citizen can be 
tried by military tribunals except for offenses commit- 
ted while in actual service in the army. Every citizen 
has the right of expatriation. Epistolary correspond- 
ence is inviolable ; nor can stolen or intercepted letters 
be used in evidence against their writers. All causes 
of diifcrcncc between citizens may be decided by arbi- 
tration, and the parties may at any time Avithdraw their 
suits from the jurisdiction of the courts, and submit 
them to arbitrators, whose decision in all cases shall be 
final. 



222 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

The general organization and powers of the govern- 
ment, as set forth in the Constitution, may be summed 
up as follows : 

Citizenship. — All persons born in the state, or in the 
other states of Central America, and resident in the 
territories of Honduras, are recognized as citizens.' 
Foreigners may acquire the rights of citizens by legis- 
lative act, but nevertheless shall be entitled to the same 
protection with citizens from the moment they have 
declared their intentions to become-, such before the 
comj)etent authorities. 

The right of suffrage belongs to all citizens over 
twenty-one years of age, '"'•hut after 1870 it shall he 
limited to such only as may then he ahle to read and 
ivrite.^'' . This right, as well as the title of citizen, is 
lost by entering foreign emjDloy or by criminal convic- 
tion. It is suspended during criminal processes against 
the person by conviction of fraudulent indebtedness, 
by notoriously vicious conduct, moral incapacity legal- 
ly declared, and hy entering ,dom,estic service near the 
2oerso7i. 

Foreigners become naturalized by holding real estate 
of a fixed value, by residence of four years, and by mar- 
rying in the state. They are obliged to pay taxes in 
common with the citizens at large, and have the same 
right to appeal to the courts. 

Government and Religion. — The government is pop- 
ular and representative, and composed of three distinct 
powers, viz., legislative, executive, and judicial ; the 
first residing in the General Assembly, the second in 
the President, and the third in the courts. The state 
recognizes the Apostolic Roman Catholic religion, to 
the exclusion of the public exercise of all others ; but 
no laws can interfere with the private exercise of other 



Chap. XIII.] political constitution. 223 

forms of worship, nor with the fullest liberty of con- 
science. 

Elections. — The state is divided into election districts 
of fifteen thousand inhabitants, each entitled to one 
deputy ; but, pending a census (not yet made), the sev- 
eral departments each elect one senator and two depu- 
ties. As there are seven departments, it follows that 
the legislative body is composed of fourteen deputies, 
half of whom are elected annually. A deputy must 
be at least twent^^-five years of age, a citizen of the de- 
partment which elects him, a proprietor to the value 
of $500, or in the exercise of some profession or art 
which yields that annual return. The senators are 
seven in number; they must not be less than thirty 
years of age, proprietors each to the value of $1000, or 
licentiates in some of the liberal professions. Three 
of the seven are elected annually. Eight deputies and 
five senators constitute a quoruin of the Legislature, 
of which the ordinary sessions are limited to forty days. 
The Legislature imposes taxes; names, in joint session, 
the magistrates of the Supreme Court of Justice ; grants 
the annual appropriations ; fixes the military contin- 
gent ; controls the educational system ; makes Avar or 
peace ; ratifies treaties ; and has the power of impeach- 
ing and trying the executive ofiicers of the state, etc. 

The Executive. — The executive power is vested in a 
President, who must be a native of Central America, a 
citizen of the state for five years, thirty-two years of 
age, and a proprietor of real estate to the value of 
$5000. He must receive an absolute majority of votes ; 
or, in case no candidate receives such majority, the 
Legislatilre elects one of the two having the highest 
number of votes. The President holds his ofifice for 
four years, and is incapable of being elected to serve. 



224 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII, 

for two consecutive terms. He may select his minis- 
ters for the various departments of government, who 
have, ex ofLcio^ a seat in the Legislature, but are not 
entitled to vote. His remaining duties and powers are 
such as usually pertain to a rejDublican executive, in- 
cluding the power of the veto. He is especially em- 
powered to make contracts for colonization, and for the 
general development of the resources of the state, which 
are subject to the legislative sanction. 

Council of State. — -This council is composed of one 
senator, elected by the General Assembly; one magis- 
trate of the Supreme Court, selected by his associates ; 
the Minister of Domestic Relations ; the Treasurer of 
State ; and two citizens, distinguished for their services, 
who are named by the General Assembly. Their du- 
ties are, for the most part, advisatory, but in cases of 
emergency they may exercise extraordinary powers, 
subject to the subsequent entire revision of the General 
Assembly. The necessity of the council results from 
the difficulties in the way of convening the Legislature 
in cases requiring prompt action, owing to the delays 
ill communication, and the diffusion of the people over 
a wide territory. 

Judiciary. — The judiciary consists of a Supreme 
Court of Justice, divided into two sections of three 
magistrates each, one of which is established in the city 
of Comayagua, and the other in that of Tegucigalpa. 
They must be composed of advocates of established rep- 
utation, twenty-five years of age, and proprietors to the 
value of $1000. They are elected, on recommendation 
of the executive, by the General Assembly, and hold 
their offices during good behavior. They take cogni- 
zance of all causes of a general character, or whicli may 
be brought up to them from the inferior or district 



Chap. XIII.] political constitution. 225 

courts, the attributes of which are set forth with great 
minuteness and care. All persons accused of crime 
must be examined within forty-eight hours after their 
arrest, and the judge must decide upon their detention 
or liberation within the next twenty-four hours. 

No person can be called uj^on to testify against him- 
self, nor against any of his relatives Avithin four degrees 
of consanguinity. Capital punishment is abolished. 

Departments. — Each department has a chief officer, 
called " Jefe Politico," named by the executive, who 
must be twenty-five years of age, and a proprietor in 
the department where he is named. He is the organ 
of communication between the central government and 
the people of the departments for the promulgation 
and execution of the laws. The officers of every mu- 
nicipality must be able to read and write, and must act 
in concert with the political chief of the department. 

Such are the outlines of the Constitution, imder 
which the internal affairs of the country seem to be 
well administered. Few cases of importance come be- 
fore the courts, since all oftenses of a petty nature are 
summarily disposed of by the municipal authorities. 

Although the Catholic religion is the only one rec- 
ognized by the Constitution, it is not to be inferred that 
the government and people of Honduras are intolerant 
and bigoted. There is probably no state of Central 
America in which there prevails so great a degree of 
liberality in respect of religion. This has resulted 
from a variety of causes and circumstances connected 
with the history of the country. Botli at the time of 
the separation from Spain and subsequently, during 
Jhe struggles attendant on the organization of Central 
America as a republic, the Church, as represented b} 
the great bod}' of the priesthood, took an active part 

P 



226 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

with the aristocracy and Monarchists against the Lib- 
eral or Republican party. The struggle was so pro- 
tracted and bitter as not only to estrange the great 
mass of the people from the Church, but to lead them 
to limit its poAver and influence by the most decisive 
measures, when their own success enabled them to do 
so with safety. The first blow fell upon the Arch- 
bishop of Guatemala, who was banished from the re- 
public. The members of all the monkish orders were 
next expelled; the convents were suppressed, and the 
estates and revenues pertaining to them confiscated for 
educational purposes. The sale of indulgences and the 
promulgation of papal bulls were also prohibited ; and 
finally, in 1832, the laws recognizing the Catholic creed 
as the faith of the country were not only abrogated, but 
religious freedom unconditionally decreed by the gen- 
eral Congress. The State of Honduras distinguished 
itself by action still more decided. It passed a law le- 
gitimatizing all the children of priests, entitling them 
to bear the names and inherit the property of their fa- 
thers, and declaring the cohabitation of priests with 
women to be an evidence of marriage in every legal 
sense, and subjecting them to all of its responsibilities. 
It was in vain that bishops and popes rained their 
bulls of excommunication and malediction upon the 
republic. A special excommunication, directed against 
the president, Morazan, was put into a cannon by a 
common soldier, and fired off in the direction of Home, 
in token of contempt and defiance ; and, although these 
extreme measures were naturally followed by a degree 
of reaction, and in Guatemala, the seat of the old vice- 
regal court and centre of monarchical influences, by the, 
re-establishment of the convents and priestly censorship 
of books, still, in the remaining states, the power and 



Chap. XIII.] religion and education. 227 

prestige of the Church remained permanently broken 
down ; and while it may be conceded that there is much 
of ignorance and superstition among the people at 
large, it may at the same time be doubted if, under the 
general deference to religion among the better classes, 
there really exists a faith in papal infallibility or a 
real devotion to the dogmas of the Church ; and al- 
though the people of Honduras, in common with those 
of Central America in general, are nominally Catho- 
lics, yet, among those capable of reflection or possessed 
of education, there are more who are destitute of any 
fixed creed, nationalists, or, as they are sometimes 
called. Free-thinkers, than adherents of any form of re- 
ligion. 

Honduras was early established as a bishopric, with 
its episcopal seat at Truxillo, whence it was removed 
to Comayag^a, where a cathedral was built, and where 
it still remains. For many years the see had remained 
vacant, until 1854, when it was filled by the consecra- 
tion of Seiior Don Hi]3polito Casiano Flores, the pres- 
ent incumbent. Finally, it may be observed that the 
Church in Hondm^as is supported only by voluntary 
contributions and a small annual appropriation on the 
part of the state. It is "without rents or revenues of 
any kind. 

Honduras has two universities ; one established in 
the city of Comayagua, and another in Tegucigalpa. 
They have nominally professorships of law, medicine, 
and theology, but, in fact, their course of instruction is 
little in advance of tliat of the common schools of the 
United States, except, perhaps, in the department of 
languages. In the department of natural sciences, and 
in those studies of greatest practical importance to the 
development of the resources of the country, chemis- 



228 REPUBLIC OP HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

try, engineering, the higher mathematics, they are en- 
tu-ely deficient, and much behind those of Nicaragua, 
San Salvador, and Guatemala. Indeed, most of what 
are called educated men in the state have received their 
instruction in foreign countries or at the institutions 
just named. Efforts have been made to elevate the 
character and efficiency of these establishments in 
Honduras, but they have been too feeble to produce 
any important change. Still, the fact that they have 
been rescued from a state of entire suspension, and are 
not deficient in pupils in the elementary branches of 
knowledge, gives encouragement for the future, and, 
with the restoration of peace and the return of national 
prosperity, there is reason to believe they may become 
an honor to the country. 

The Lancasterian system of education was introduced 
in Central America during the existence of the Federa- 
tion, and has been continued, with some modifications, 
in the various states. The requisite data for estimat- 
ing the public or common schools of Honduras do not 
exist, since such few returns from the departments as 
have been incidentally published in the official paper 
are confessedly imperfect. On a very liberal estimate, 
there may be four hundred schools in the state, with an 
average attendance of twenty-five scholars each, or an 
aggregate of ten thousand pupils of all classes in a 
total population of three hundred and fifty thousand. 
There are no libraries in the state worthy of mention, 
and, besides the government Gazette, no newspapers. 
There are several presses, but they throw off little ex- 
cept acrimonious political pamphlets, or hand-bills of a 
personal character. It follows from these facts that 
• the ignorance of the people at large is profound and 
melancholv. 



Chap. XIII.] products and exports. 229 

There exist no data for calculating either the amount 
or value of the industrial products of Honduras ; none 
of an authentic character in respect to its commerce, 
or the revenues derived from duties on imports or from 
taxes. Upon all these points little can be said which 
is not purely conjectural. The amount of foreign prod- 
ucts consumed in the state is nevertheless considera- 
ble, and the exports commensurate in value. 

The leading articles of export may be enumerated as 
follows ; but, as I have said, the values are in all cases 
conjectural, and at best approximate : 

BuUion $400,000 

Mahogany and other woods . . 200,000 

Cattle 125,000 

Hides, sarsaparilla, tobacco, indigo, etc. 400,000 

$1,125,000 

The revenues of the state from all sources may be 
roughly estimated at $250,000. The sale o^ aguardi- 
ente^ or native rum, is a government estanca or monop- 
oly, and yields a considerable annual income to the 
state. 

The currency of Honduras has been much vitiated 
by the large issue of what is called '"'■Qnoneda provis- 
ional,'''' or, familiarly, ^''cobre,'''' i. e., copper coin slightly 
alloyed "wdth silver, and of the denomination of quarter 
and half dollars. The issue has not at any time been 
limited by law, and has been going on since 1839, with 
a corresponding dej)reciation of value, until now it 
passes at the rate of twelve dollars of "cobre" for one 
of "_^3Zato" or silver. But, notwithstanding the laws 
upon the subject, made originally with the view of 
forcing this provisional money into circulation, it has 
always been rigidly excluded from the northern depart- 
ments of Grajcias, Yoro, and parts of Sta. Barbara and 



230 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII, 

Olancho, where the people utterly refuse to receive it. 
It is difficult to say how much of this coin is in circu- 
lation, but it may be estimated at $1,000,000 in nom- 
inal value, equal to $100,000 in silver. It is but just 
to observe that the actual government of Honduras is 
making laudable efforts, by stopping the farther issue 
of this debased coin, and by a gradual annual redemp- 
tion, to withdraw it from circulation, and to supply its 
place by an issue in denomination and standard con- 
forming to that of the United States. 

A^Dart from the "moneda provisional, " the 'tnacacOj 
or cut money of the old kingdom, a portion of its coin- 
age and that of the Federal Republic, together with , 
American and English coin, make up the bulk of 
money in circulation. The foreign coins pass at their 
true valuation, and not, as in New Granada, Nicara- 
gua, and in some other of the South American States, 
at a nominal advance. As the exports of the state 
are fully equal to its imports, the little money which 
is in circulation remains in the state, to answer the 
limited requirements of its interior trade. 

The cattle of Honduras constitute at present its 
most obvious source of wealth. The comparatively 
open character of the interior country, and its vast sa- 
vannas, covered with natural and unfailing meadows, 
are circumstances eminently favorable for the increase 
of this kind of property to an indefinite extent ; but, 
for obvious reasons, cattle do not now afford any con- 
siderable revenue to the proprietors, since the domestic 
consumption is small, and the demand in the neighbor- 
ing states limited in amount. Mr. Baily has suggest- 
ed the possibility of salting beef in the state, and mak- 
ing it an article of export to the West Indies and 
other markets, and there seems to be much reason in 



Chap. XIII.] industry and agriculture. 231 

the suggestion. It may be objected that the high tem- 
perature of the country must prove an insuperable 
difficulty to the success of the experiment ; but there 
are certainly many portions of the interior where the 
elevation, and consequently cool climate, must obviate 
this objection, even if it were well founded. 

The entire industry of Honduras, it must be confess- 
ed, is at a very low ebb. This has been the natural 
consequence of the condition of the country, both be- 
fore and after its independence, not less than of the 
composition of its people. 

The narrow colonial system of Spain had the effect 
to keep many of her American possessions, and espe- 
cially Central America, entirely excluded from inter- 
course with the rest of the world. None of the im- 
provements in the arts or in agriculture, which else- 
where were effecting gradual but total revolutions in 
the industry of nations, were permitted to reach that 
country. Trade was monopolized by the crown, which 
equally undertook to regulate the amount of production 
of the various articles for which these colonies were dis- 
tinguished. A single example will illustrate the ex- 
tent to which this jealous and oppressive policy was 
carried. Early in the eighteenth century, the cultiva- 
tion of the grape had been introduced upon the north- 
ern coast of Honduras with so much success and j)rom- 
ise as to attract the attention of the government of 
Sp«in, and lead it to fear that the colony might ulti- 
mately come to rival the mother country in the produc- 
tion of wine. Orders were consequently issued to the 
officers of the crown to destroy the vines, which orders 
Avere carried into execution. Since that period no far- 
ther attempts have been made to introduce the grape, 
but no doubt exists of the fact that it miglit be pro- 



232 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

duced in the greatest abundance, and become an ele- 
ment of wealth to the state. 

The internal troubles which followed the independ- 
ence have left the country no opportunity to repair the 
errors of the previous colonial system, which had so ef- 
fectually suppressed its industry, and prevented the de- 
velopment of its resources. These commotions deter- 
red foreign enterprise from taking that direction, while 
they equally debarred the people themselves from mak- 
ing an effective use of the limited means at their own 
command for their own improvement. 

A great and, until remedied, an insuperable obstacle 
to the development of Honduras, is the want of ade- 
quate means of internal communication. The roads, 
so called, are mere mule-paths, often conducted, to avoid 
large and rapid streams, over the steepest and rough- 
est mountains, where in places they are so narrow, 
abrupt, and obstructed, that the stranger recoils in de- 
spair of effecting a ]3assage. The loads carried by mules 
are necessarily light, and the expense of transportation 
becomes so great as effectually to prohibit the exporta- 
tion of the more bulky products of the state, except 
from places near the coast. All articles of importa- 
tion, also, which can not be packed on mules, require 
to be transported on the shoulders of men ; and the 
pianos, mirrors, and other foreign articles of bulk and 
value in use in the larger towns of the interior have 
all been carried in this manner from the sea-ports— dis- 
tances varying from sixty to one hundred miles ! The 
requisite machinery for working the mines in a manner 
adequate to their importance is also excluded for the 
same reason. But with the opening of a single good 
road through the state, and especially in the event of 
the construction of the proposed railway between the 



Chap. XIII.] progress and civilization. 233 

seas, these difficulties will be, in a great degree, removed, 
and industry increase in proportion to the incentive 
which may be held out for its exercise. The imjDort- 
ance of these material considerations is well understood 
by all the educated portions of the people, and it is 
but just to say that they are disposed to make use of 
every means in their power, alike by the encourage- 
ment of foreign enterprise, and by an active co-opera- 
tion on their own part, to hasten the development and 
secure the prosperity of the state. Liberal in politics 
and religion, and repelling those prejudices which it has 
been the effort of demagogues in Mexico and Guate- 
mala to inspire against the United States, they look 
toward the latter country as the direction from whence 
their cherished hopes for the future are to be realized. 
As an evidence of their admiration for its example, and 
with the view of opening new and more intimate rela- 
tions with it, the government of Honduras last year 
commissioned Don Jose Francisco Barrundia, one of 
its ablest and most venerated citizens, as envoy and 
plenipotentiary in the United States — a man Avho, as 
one of the most active promoters of the independence 
of Central America, the author of its Constitution, and 
at one time its president, was eminently fitted to give 
weio-ht and character to his mission. His sudden death, 
on the eve of entering on the discharge of his duties, 
has justly been regarded in Honduras as a national 
calamity. There is, nevertheless, good reason to be- 
lieve that the sentiments and principles which dictated 
his nomination are still cherished and active, and that 
the grand objects had in view in his appointment will 
ultimately be accomplished. 

Civilization is harmonious ; and there can be no great 
intellectual, political, or social advancement which is 



234 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIII. 

not preceded by a corresponding material progress. 
This truth has gradually forced itself upon the minds 
of the reflecting portion of the people of Central Amer- 
ica, and they have come to understand that political 
permutations are powerless to effect the regeneration 
of the country. They distinctly perceive that the ex- 
isting elements of population, however important in 
the aids which they may afford, are yet -inadequate to 
that great end. 

It has not always been prudent for them to avow 
their own convictions in the face of prejudices which 
are diligently fostered by demagogues for sinister and 
selfish purposes. The special power conferred upon 
the President by the Constitution of Honduras, "to 
conclude contracts for colonization," nevertheless indi- 
cates the direction in which the framers of that instru- 
ment looked for relief from the difficulties and dangers 
of their condition. As I have elsewhere intimated, it 
is only by a judicious system of colonization, which shall 
ultimately secure the predominance of white blood, at 
the same time that it shall introduce intelligence, in- 
dustry, and skill, that the country can hope to achieve 
peace, prosperity, and greatness. With vast resources, 
a climate adapted to every caprice, not less than to the 
products of every zone, and an unrivaled position, it 
would be a practical denial of the evidences of high de- 
sign, to doubt the future power and greatness of the 
hitherto little known, the long-distracted, and, as yet, 
utterly undeveloped Republic of Honduras. 



INTER. OCEANIC RAILWAY. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

PROPOSED INTER-OCEANIC RAILWAY THROUGH HONDURAS. 

\ SHORT and easy passage" between the Atlan- 
tic and Pacific Oceans, across the isthmus which 
connects North with South America, has, for more than 
three centm^ies, been a leading object of human ambi- 
tion and enterprise. It was the hope of finding "el 
secreto del estrecho," the secret of the strait, which 
led Columbus to coast along the continent from Hon- 
duras to the Orinoco, which carried Mawllan to the 
straits which bear his name, and which animated and 
sustained Cortez when, followed only by a handful of 
soldiers, he advanced into the heart of the hostile em- 
pire of Mexico, and sent his exploring squadrons into 
the unknown waters of the great South Sea.* 

From the moment, however, when the fact that no 
natural connection existed between the two oceans be- 
came established, the idea of opening an artificial com- 
munication began to occupy the minds of men. As 
early as 1551, three points had been indicated as favor- 
able for this purpose. 

* The Emperor Charles V., in 1523, in a letter from Valladolid, enjoins Cortez 
to search carefully for " the secret of the strait," which should connect the east- 
ern and western shores of New Spain, and shorten, as was then supposed, by two 
thirds, the voyage from Cadiz to " the land of spices" and the shores of Cathay. 
In his reply to this letter, Cortez indulges in sanguine hopes of making this grand 
discovery, " which," he adds, " would make the King of Spain master of so many 
kingdoms that he might consider himself lord of the world." 



236 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XI Y. 

I. The Isthmus of Tehuantepec. 
II. The Isthmus of Nicaragua. 

III. That of Panama and Darien. 

Since then, two other lines have been suggested, viz. , 
one from Chiriqui Lagoon, on the Caribbean Sea, to the 
Gulf of Dulce, on the Pacific, and a second, falling prop- 
erly within the continent of South America, from the 
Piver Atrato, flowing into the Atlantic, to the Piver 
Choco, falling into the Pacific. 

Of all these, three have been claimed to be fit places 
for opening a canal between the seas, viz., Nicaragua, 
Darien, and Atrato. It was once supposed canals 
might be opened at Tehuantepec and Panama, but since 
the proper surveys have been made at these points, this 
idea has been relinquished. The survey recently made 
at Nicaragua has also shown that the construction of 
a canal there, although possible, will be attended with 
unexpectedly great difficulties, and a cost so heavy as 
to preclude any adequate return on the caj)ital invest- 
ed. A reconnaisance at Darien, just concluded, has 
proved the utter impracticability of that line for a canal. 
The Atrato line remains to be brought to the test of a 
survey — a test which has proved fatal to many plausi- 
ble s]3eculations in other instances. But, even if it 
should be shown that a canal is feasible at that place, 
its extreme southern position will always be a great 
obstacle to its success, inasmuch as the principal points 
in the Pacific with which it is most important to have 
a means of speedy communication lie in high northern 
latitudes. 

In fact, so far as the United States are concerned, 
the great desideratum is a route as far to the north- 
ward as possible ; and whether it be by water or rail- 
way, adequate ports on both seas are indispensable req- 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 237 

uisites. Without these, there can be neither facility 
nor security of communication ; and every mile to the 
southward of the latitude of New Orleans which any 
route may lie, adds two miles to the aggregate dis- 
tance between the Atlantic States and California, Ore- 
gon, the Sandwich Islands, and the great centres of 
Oriental trade which are now opening to our enterprise. 

Any route, therefore, which shall best conform to 
these conditions, viz., a high latitude and good ports, 
has not only the first claim on the public attention and 
support, but will, in the end, supersede all others. 

And here it may be observed, that when the project 
of opening an inter-oceanic communication across the 
Central American Isthmus first began to attract the at- 
tention of the world, steam-boats and railways were un- 
knoAvn, Accordingly, no lines were indicated except 
such as were supposed to have an adaptability for ca- 
nals ; and hence also resulted that predilection, almost 
amounting to prejudice, with which certain particular 
lines have continued to be regarded, even since modern 
discovery has altered the entire nature of the question. 
The Spaniard designated the Isthmus of Panama and 
Tehuantej)ec as probably the only places where a canal 
could be dug. He was governed in this selection 
wholly b}^ the consideration which I have named, and 
to which all other considerations Avere necessarily subor- 
dinate. Had he been acquainted with steam in its ap- 
plication to land-carriage and to navigation, he would 
never have given those isthmuses a second thought, but 
would have selected other lines which should combine 
the great and indispensable conditions to a good and 
permanent route of transit, viz., good ports, salubrious 
climate, and advantageous commer^l position. 

But now, hoAvever desirable a water commimication 



238 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

between the seas may be esteemed, it is well known 
that many of the requirements of trade, and all those 
of travel and the transmission of intelligence, can be 
met by railways better than by canals. Their greater 
adajDtation to natural conditions, facility of overcoming 
physical obstacles, and greater cheapness of construc- 
tion, also commend them more directly to practical at- 
tention. 

To the list of proposed routes of inter-oceanic com- 
munication already presented, I have now to add an- 
other, which has peculiar advantages, and such as must 
give it a permanent superiority over all others as a 
means of transit between the seas, and of safe, rapid, 
and easy communication with the more important 
conimercial centres on the Pacific Ocean. This route 
lies wholly within the State of Honduras, and has al- 
ready undergone a close reco7inaiscmce, with the results 
herewith presented. 

The proposed line commences at Puerto Caballos, on 
the Bay of Honduras, in lat. 15° 49' K, and long. 87° 
57' W., and runs nearly due south, across the continent, 
to the Bay of Fonseca, on the Pacific, in lat. 13° 21' N., 
and long. 87° 35' W. Its total length from anchorage 
to anchorage, or from five fathoms of water in Puerto 
Caballos to five fathoms of water in the Bay of Fon- 
seca, is one hundred and forty-eight geographical, equal 
to about one hundred and sixty statute miles. Start- 
ing at Puerto Caballos, the line pursues a course a lit- 
tle east of south, across the plain of Sula, until it strikes 
the Rio Ulua, near the town of Santiago. Thence it 
follows the valley of that river, now called the Humu- 
ya, to its very soui^, in the great plain of Comayagua, 
a distance of not rar from one hundred miles from Pu- 
erto Caballos. At the southern extremity of this plain 



o 



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SHOW 

THE PROPOSED ROl Ti:S OI< 
INTIHOeEANIC QOmUumCATiOH 

DISTA 

Fii.m>K« Y()i!K t.. S.\X Fk 

\'ia TEHUANTEP 

HONDURAS 

NICARAGUA 
PANAMA 



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Kumammi 



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Chap. XIY.] inter-oceanic railavat. 239 

there is a slight elevation, which constitutes the "sum- 
mit" between the Atlantic and Pacific. Here the sources 
of the Humuya interlock with those of the Rio Goas- 
coran, which flows through its proper valley into the 
Gulf of Fonseca. 

Two important facts are to be observed in tracing 
this line : 

I. That the valleys of the Humuya and Goascoran, 
in conjunction with the central plain of Comayagua, 
constitute a g^^eat transverse valley extending from sea 
to sea., completely cutting through the chain of the Cor- 
elilleras. 

II. That this great transverse valley or natural cut 
extends due north and south, and permits the location 
of the proposed road so that, in its whole course, it will 
scarcely deviate five miles from a right line. 

These natural conditions, not less than capacious, 
safe, and altogether unexceptionable harbors at both 
extremities, and a country eminently salubrious, distin- 
guish this line as combining the obvious and primary- 
requisites for an adequate and permanent inter-oceanif^ 
communication to a degree which has no parallel in 
any project which has yet been presented to public con- 
sideration. 

Commencing, then, at Puerto Caballos and proceed- 
ing southward, the leading facts connected with the 
line of the proposed road will appear in their just 
order. 

I. PUERTO CABALLOS. 

Puerto Caballos has already been described (ante^ p. 
100), and little need be said here except that it is se- 
cure, and that its capacities are adequate to all the re- 
(piirements of existing or prospective commerce. It 



240 BEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

was surveyed in 1853 by Lieutenant Jeifers, U. S, N. 
(see Chart), who reported : 

" Puerto Caballos is a good liarbor, of great capacity, suffi- 
cient depth of water, and easy of entrance and exit. Situated 
at the base of the hills, there are neither marshes nor swamps to 
affect the healthfalness of the locality, which is sufficiently ex- 
tensive for the formation of a large city. The lagoon, which is 
of salt water, and open to the sea, abounds in fish."* 

* The evidence of Lieutenant Jeffers is conclusive ; but, if confirmation were 
needed, it might be found in the concurrent testimony of Captain Theodore Lewis, 
who visited Puerto Caballos in the schooner " George Steers," April, 1854. The 
following extract is from the log-book of that vessel : 

" Wednesday, April \lth, 1,^54. At 10 A.M. got underway with the sea-breeze, 
weather clear and very pleasant. 

" Desirous of seeing the Bay of Puerto Caballos on our passage down the coast, 
I directed the pilot to steer for it, and at 1 P.M. we rounded the point and entered 
this capacious harbor. The mouth is about two miles wide from north to south, 
and the port is about the same depth from east to west. We rounded the point, 
within one hundred yards of the shore, with not less than ten fathoms of water, 
and sailed along the northern side of the bay, for the purpose of examining minute- 
ly its capacity and depth of water. 

" To do full justice to this capacious anchorage, and preclude the possibility of a 
doubt on the subject, I went myself in the boat with lead and line, and ascertained 
by a regular chain of soundings the depth of water for over two thirds of the north- 
ern portion of the bay. 

" In the middle of the baj^, or nearly so, I had twelve fathoms at several casts, 
gradually shoaling as we neared the north shore to ten, nine, eight, seven, six fath- 
oms, and when within about twenty yards of the beach, five fathoms, mud bottom, 
clear ground. At this time we had entered the bay for about two thirds of the dis- 
tance from the point v/hich forms its entrance to its head. 

" From the most diligent inquiry of many of those who follow the coasting trade, 
I am informed that westerly gales on this coast at no season amount to any thing. 

" Westerly winds on this coast, I am able to say from my own experience and 
that of others, begin rainy, with an ea.sy breeze gradually veering to the northwest, 
increasing in strength, and by the time they arrive at N.N.W., blow with great 
force, at times for forty-eight hours, with but little intermission, and raise a con- 
siderable swell. But they quickly subside on the clearing up of the weather, and 
with the least easting, say one quarter of a point. 

" By a reference to the chart, it will be seen that a vessel is completely sheltered, 
when in five fathoms of water, from any sea that may roll into the bay from the 
westward, and the sea from this quarter never amounts to any thing of conse- 
quence. As an instance : the ' George Steers' v/as anchored south about three 
hundred yards from the southeast point of the harbor of Omoa, in three fathoms of 
water, during several of the hardest westerly gales, and in no case did the water 
come over the bow or wet the deck of this sharp vessel, or prevent boats from land- 
ing on the beach, due east from the place where she was anchored. 




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SiM,.-..-,) w,,n,nv.\,iMfms,( s.\ i.'i.vs 

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Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 241 

It may be added that the ground around the port is 
firm, and a considerable part of it cleared and under 
cultivation. In abundance of good water, and in fer- 
tility of soil, the neighborhood of Puerto Caballos offers 
every condition necessary for the building up and sup- 
port of a large and flourishing town. 

II. PUERTO CABALLOS TO SANTIAGO. 

From Puerto Caballos, in order to reach the great 
and beautiful plain of Sula or Santiago, through which 
flow the large rivers Chamelicon and Ulua, it is nec- 
essary to make a circuit of nearly three miles to turn 
the eastern end or base of the high mountain chain 
of Merendon or Omoa, which is a branch of the Cor- 
dilleras, and which here finds an abrupt termination. 

The plain of Sula forms a great triangle, its base rest- 
ing on the sea, and extending for upward of fifty miles 
along ohe coast, from the outposts of the mountains of 
Omoa to those of Congrehoy, and its apex extending 
due south on the line of the proposed road in the di- 
rection of Comayagua. (See a«ie, p. 149.) A portion 
of this plain, to the right or eastward of the Pio Ulua, 
is flat, and, during high water, subject to overflow. 
Such, however, is not the case with the western portion 
of the j^lain, over which the road will be located. Here 
the o-round is firm, and the streams have all sand or 
gravel beds. No bottomless marshes, such as those 

" With the wind from the N.W. to N., the points from which the hardest gales 
blow, there is room for three hundred sail of vessels of all classes, from a ship of 
one hundred and forty guns down to a sloop or dory, to ride in perfect security. 

•' A gentleman resident on this coast, and of great experience in the winds and 
weather hereabouts, informed me that some time back he was voyaging in a dory. 
when the sky, swell, etc., gave unmistakable evidence of a norther, and compelled 
him to make Puerto Caballos for security. Here he rode out in perfect safety one 
of the most furious northers he had ever witnessed. 

"Theodore Lewis." 

Q 



242 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

which have obstructed the Panama road, are found 
here, nor, indeed, upon any part of the entire line. 

In the opinion of Lieutenant Jeffers, the road, after 
turning the base of the hills back of Puerto Caballos, 
can be made perfectly straight to the town of Santiago, 
where the Ulua is formed by the junction of the rivers 
Santiago, Blanco, and Humuya. The latter, keeping 
the direction of the Ulua from north to south, should 
properly bear the same name. From Puerto Caballos 
to Santiago there formerly existed a graded road, which 
may still be followed, although much grown up since 
the abandonment of the port. The ascent to Santiago 
is so gentle as to be imperceptible, and the cutting and 
filling will be so slight as scarcely to deserve mention. 

Santiago may be regarded as the head of steam- 
boat navigation on the Ulua, although vessels of light 
draught, at favorable stages of the water, might ascend 
much farther. Lieutenant JefFers, who examined the 
river minutely, reports that "steamers drawing seven 
feet may enter the Ulua at all times, and from June 
to Januar}^ ascend as far as the junction of the Humu- 
ya. Light draught steamers can always ascend to the 
mouth of the Humuya, and by the Pio Blanco to a 
point near Yojoa." (For a consideration of the Piver 
Ulua and its branches in reference to their capacities 
and economic values, see ante^ p. 73.) 

III. FROM SANTIAGO, BY VALLEY OF RIO HUMUYA, TO PLAIN OF 

ESPINO. 

From Santiago the line of the road is discretional. 
It may be located on either bank of the Humuya. A 
detailed and minute surve}^ can alone determine which 
bank affords the greater facilities. Lieutenant Jeifers 
is of opinion that the left, or western bank, is the more 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 248 

favorable. In following the left bank, it will be neces- 
sary to bridge the Santiago or Venta, a large and broad 
stream, reqnii'ing a bridge of from five hmidred to seven 
hundred feet in length, and afterward to Ijridge the 
Blanco, wliich is narrow, not exceeding sixty feet in 
width. If, on the other hand, the Ulua is crossed be- 
low the junction of the streams, but one bridge will be 
necessary. Crossing, however, a larger body of water, 
it would require to be of more considerable dimensions 
than that over the Venta. 

Taking either bank, the road would pursue essential- 
ly the same direction. The plain continues for about 
ten miles beyond Santiago, where it is contracted b}' 
the hills and mountains which border the comparative- 
ly narrow valley of the Humuya. From this jDoint the 
ascent becomes more rapid. The course of the River 
Humuya, up to the plain of Espino, is direct, and the 
valley, according to Lieutenant Jeffers, is "formed be- 
tween hills of from fifty to five hundred feet of altitude, 
which, in general, come down to the banks of the river, 
but occasionally recede, and leave strips of level above 
the reach of inundations. The slopes of these hills are 
seldom abrupt, and no heavy work will be required at 
any point. The alternation of cut and fill," he contin- 
ues, "for the entire distance, is very favorable. The 
countrj^ around is generally broken, but intersected with 
numerous fertile valleys. This portion is more valu- 
able for grazing than for agricultural purj^oses. The 
hills are covered with the pine and oak, and on the bor- 
ders of the streams exist vast quantities of mahogany, 
cedar, guanacaste {Lignum Vitce)^ India-rubber, and 
other valuable trees." 

About midway between Santiago and the plain of 
Espino, the River Sulaco, descending from the right, 



244 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

unites with the Humuya. This is a considerable 
stream, draining a broad and fertile valley, and extend- 
ing in the direction of the rich department of Olan- 
cho. The construction of the proposed rail-road would 
lead not only to the development of the valley of the 
Sulaco by means of dependent wagon-roads through 
it, but also bring the rich district of Olancho in close 
communication with the coast at Puerto Caballos. 

The plain of Espino may be said to commence at 
the town of Ojos de Agua. This town is fifty-five 
miles (approximately) from Puerto Caballos, and the 
valley is here elevated nine hundred and thirty-six feet 
above the sea. The average grade of the proposed road 
to this point will therefore be seventeen feet to the mile. 

IV. PLAIN OF ESPINO TO PLAIN OF COMAYAGUA. 

From Ojos de Agua to the point where a transverse 
range of hills separates the plain of Espino from that 
of Comayagua, there exist no difficulties whatever to 
the building of the road. A few bridges over small 
streams, none requiring to be more than thu-ty feet 
water-way, are about the only constructions which will 
be required. The plain of Espino slopes gently toward 
the north, and lends its aid in overcoming the summit, 
without involving any eifort of engineering skill. 
From the upper or southern extremity of this plain 
there are two ways of reaching the plain of Comaya- 
gua, viz. : first, by following the valley of Humuya, 
which here makes a considerable bend to pass the in- 
tervening hills ; or, second, by passing these hills on a 
direct line, over an intermediate summit of about one 
hundred and fifty feet. 

The choice between these two lines will be determ- 
ined, no doubt, by the choice of a pass over the gQu- 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 245 

eral summit, at the southern extremity of the plain of 
Comayagua. If the pass of Guajoca be adopted, then 
the line of the river will be selected ; if that of Rancho 
Chiquito be chosen, then the line of the road will be 
carried directly through the hills, and past the city of 
Comayagua, the capital of the state. 

It may be observed that the plain of Espino, some- 
times called Maniani, is about twelve miles long by 
eight broad, and exceedingly beautiful. It is stated 
that, under the crown, traffic was carried on between 
Maniani and Puerto Caballos in boats. In later times 
loaded canoes have descended, and Lieutenant Jeffers 
went down in a canoe from Ojos de Agua. The cm'- 
rent of the stream, however, is rapid, and much ob- 
structed by boulders and rocks, making the navigation 
both difficult and dangerous. 

V. PLAIN OF COMAYAGUA. 

The great plain of Comayagua constitutes precisely 
that feature in the general topography of the country 
^vhich gives not only practicability, but eminent feasi- 
bility to the proposed railway. It is situated in the 
very centre of the state, midway between the seas, and 
is about forty miles in its greatest length, by from five 
to fifteen broad. Its greatest or largest axis is north 
and south, and nearly coincides with the line of the 
proposed road. These dimensions are exclusive of the 
lateral or dependent valleys of the streams, which con- 
centrate themselves in this basin, and form the Hio 
Humuya. Like the plain of Espino, it slopes gradu- 
ally to the north, and thus renders the grade of the 
proposed road to the summit gentle and easy. This 
plain is the only one in all Central America the long- 
est axis of which coincides with the meridian — a fea- 



246 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

ture which was early remarked by the Sj)aiiiards, and 
which led to the foundation of the city of Comayagua. 

"It was intended," says Juarros, the historian of Guatemala, 
" by means of this place, to obtain an easy coininunication be- 
tween the Atlantic and Pacific ; its situation, being about half 
way between Puerto Caballos and the Bay of Fonseca, would 
render it a convenient intermediate depot. The climate being- 
healthy and the soil fertile, much of the sickness and waste of 
human life would be prevented, and many of the fatigues and 
privations avoided that were usuaUy experienced in the journey 
from Nombre de Dios (Chagres) to Panama."* 

The line of the road across the j)lain of Comayagua 
is, as I have said, discretional, and will depend upon 
the summit pass. Should the pass of Hancho Chi- 
quito be fixed upon, the road would pass through the 
hills separating the plains of Comayagua and Espino, 
on a nearly right line, and emerge near the city of Co- 
mayagua ; thence on the right bank of the Humuya 
to a point near the town of San Antonio, there cross 
the stream, and proceed on a direct course to the town 
of Lamani. The plain on the right bank of the Hu- 
muya is more broken than on the left, but not to a de- 
gree to embarrass the operations of the engineer or 
constructor. 

On the other hand, should the pass of Guajoca be 
adopted, as I have already said, the road would follow 
the valley of the river through the hills, a distance of 
perhaps three miles, enter the plain of Comayagua on 
the left bank of the river, and traverse the western 
portion of the plain near, or through the small towns 
of Lajamini and Ajuterique, the large and flourishing 
town of Las Piedras, to the village of Tambla. This 
portion of the plain is wonderfully fertile and favorable 

* History of the Kingdom of Guatemala, Baily's Translation, p. 331. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 247 

for the work. The streams, with a single exception, 
are small, and exhaustless quarries of blue marble bor- 
der the line. 

It was in the valley of the river, between the hills 
dividing the two plains, that the surveying party were 
led to believe, by the representations made to them, the 
great, if not only, difficulty betw^een the summit and 
the Atlantic was to be found. There is, however, ab- 
solutely no difficulty in the way of a rail-road ; in fact, 
there is room for a dozen roads, at slightly different 
grades. The hills are high, but not so steep as to pre- 
clude cultivation down to the edge of the water, which, 
in a country of rains, presupposes a declivity not incon- 
venient for our purposes. 

From Ojos de Agua to Lamani and to Tambla is a 
distance of about forty miles. The elevation of Tam- 
bla is one thousand nine hundred and forty-fom*, and 
of Lamani two thousand and sixteen feet above the 
sea. The grade, therefore, from Ojos de Agua to Tam- 
bla, the elevation of the latter over the former being 
one thousand and eight feet, will be twenty-five feet two 
inches to the mile. To Lamani the distance would be 
somewhat greater, and the gi'ade slightly heavier, in con- 
sequence of the intermediate summit of one hundred 
and fifty feet between the plains. 

From Puerto Caballos to Tambla the distance may 
be set down at ninety miles, and the average grade 
twenty-one feet nine inches to the mile. 

VI. THE SUMMIT. 

By the summit I mean the section between Tambla 
or Lamani and Rancho Grande, a distance of nearl}' 
fifteen miles, the dividing point, or summit proper, be- 
ing midway between these two places. It is within 



248 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

this section that the principal, I may ahnost say the 
only, engineering difficulties on the whole line are to 
be found. But these are not of a serious nature, nor 
are they greater than occur on nearly all roads of equal 
length in all countries. No tunnels nor deep cuttings 
are required to jDass the summit ; it may be reached 
from the north by side cuttings, in a friable sand rock, 
approaching chalk in appearance and texture, and which 
yields readily to the pick. It can be cut almost as 
easily as clay, with the advantage of admitting of ver- 
tical walls, and not washing. 

The summit may be overcome at two passes, neither 
of which varies the route materially from a right line, 
viz., the pass of Rancho Chiquito, followed by the 
mule-path, and that of Guajoca. 

The summit at the former pass is three hundred and 
ninety-two feet above Lamani, to be overcome in six 
miles, which gives a grade of sixty-five feet to the mile. 
From Hancho Chiquito to Rancho Grande the distance 
is eight miles, and the descent five hundred feet, involv- 
ing a grade of sixty-two feet six inches to the mile. 
These are the tnaxiinum or heaviest grades on the en- 
tire road. Nowhere else do they exceed forty feet to 
the mile. 

The pass of Kancho Chiquito is not a rocky summit, 
abruptly dividing the waters flowing into the great 
oceans, but a beautiful valley, a savanna or natural 
meadow, bounded on the east by a parallel range of 
high mountains, and on the west by a corresponding 
range of hills. In this meadow, dotted over with cat- 
tle, the traveler finds two bright streams, scarcely a 
hundred ^^ards apart, flowing in opposite directions. 
One is a source of the Humuya flowing into the Atlan- 
tic, the other of the Goascoran falling into the Pacific. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 249 

An active spadesman could reverse their directions in 
a single day. ' 

The pass of Guajoca is lower by one hundred feet 
than that of Rancho Chiquito. From the village of 
Tambla to the summit is about seven and a half miles. 
The gTade necessary to reach it would therefore be but 
forty-seven feet four inches to the mile. From the 
summit to Rancho Grande is also between seven and 
eight miles, with a uniform descent of fifty-five feet to 
the mile. 

Like that of E-ancho Chiquito, the pass of Guajoca 
is a broad savanna, in which the sources of the Goas- 
coran and Humuya almost mingle. Upon the north 
side rises abruptly a high continuous ridge, twelve or 
fifteen hundred feet in height, which extends exactly 
j^arallel to the line of the road, and permits, by means 
of a side cut, precisely such a grade, in approaching 
the summit from the north, as the locating engineer 
may find it best to adopt. 

In my own judgment, the pass of Guajoca is greatly 
preferable, in all respects, to that of Rancho Chiquito. 
Not only is it one hundred feet lower to start with, but, 
with an average cutting of thirty feet for a mile, it may 
be reduced one hundred or one hundred and twenty-five 
feet more, so that the extreme rise from Tambla shall 
not exceed three hundred feet. The Valley of Cm^uru, 
wdiich the line would follow, is bounded by parallel 
straight ridges, upon the slopes of which any grade 
may be selected which may be deemed advisable. That 
is to say, the grade may be carried over three or eight 
miles, and the road located with a rise of from forty to 
one hundred feet per mile, in the discretion of the en- 
gineer. 

As I have said, the road will follo^v the Valley of 



250 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

Cururu to the divide, and thence descend the valley of 
a small stream, the Carrizal, to Rancho Grande, where 
the streams descending from the two passes unite and 
form the Bio Rancho Grande. Should the cut above 
contemplated be made, the maximum grade 07i the en- 
tire line of the road will fall below sixty feet to the 
mile, and not exceed forty feet for a distance of more 
than six miles. 

VII. VALLEY OF THE GOASCOIIAN. 

After passing the summit, the line of the road will 
follow the valley of the Rio Goascoran to the plains 
surrounding the Bay of Fonseca. The grade will be 
very nearly uniform, although averaging higher than 
on the northern declivity. The character of the coun- 
try, and the facilities for the construction of the road, 
are thus summed up by Lieutenant Jeffers : 

"The country is in general of the most favorable 
character. The line of the road, being traced upon a 
table on the banks of the river, and beyond the reach 
of freshets, presents the character of an inclined plane 
from the summit to the harbor. The amount of cut- 
ting and filling will be very small, except in the divis- 
ion on each side of the summit ; the curves will be 
good, and the grades not greater than are to be found 
upon successful roads. There will be no tunnels re- 
quired, and very little excavation in rock. 

"The elevation to be overcome, to pass the summit 
at Bancho Chiquito, is twenty-five hundred feet, but 
when it is considered that there are no descents, and 
that it is the total of ascents, and not the elevation of 
the summit, that constitutes the expense of working, it 
will be seen that this is by no means unfavorable. 

"South of Goascoran the formations are of lime- 



Chap. XI Y.] inter-oceanic railway. 251 

stone, white sandstone, disintegrated quartz, gravel and 
sand, mixed with lavas and volcanic stones. No cut- 
ting of any extent will be necessary in these rocks. At 
Goascoran there are extensive beds of blue limestone, 
and in all the streams an immense c[uantity of large 
boulders of granite, gneiss, conglomerate, and sand- 
stone. From this point the rock is a white sandstone, 
sufficiently soft to be quarried with the pick, but hard- 
ening and toughening by exposure. Its durability is 
sufficiently proved by the existence of engraved figures 
upon the rocks near Aramacina, which are in a good 
state of preservation, although of a date anterior to the 
concjuest. Excavations can be made at an expense lit- 
tle or no greater than in earth, with the advantage of 
durability, and no liability to wash. Upon the whole 
line there is abundance of gravel, sand, lime, and brick- 
clay. 

"At Aramacina the yellow pine appears on the 
hills, and at San Juan and Aguanqueterique it is to be 
found of good size and in inexhaustible quantities in 
the immediate vicinity of the road. The pine attains 
a size of thirty inches, and from fifty to seventy-five 
feet of altitude, diifering in no respect from the best 
North Carolina. The oak is also to be found in con- 
siderable quantities, as well as many other useful and 
valuable woods in anv desirable abundance. 

"The width of the valley is so small, compared with 
its length, that there are no streams to be crossed be- 
tween the terminus and the summit having a watei- 
way to exceed thirty feet : the expense in this impor- 
tant item will consequently be exceedingly small. 
For the construction of bridges there is, nevertheless, 
abundance of timber on the ground. 

"The smaller streams running into the Goascoran 



252 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

afford a supply of water-power applicable to the run- 
ning of saw-mills or other machinery." 

VIII. BAY OF FONSECA. 

The magnificent Bay of Fonseca (see ante^ p. 92), the 
western terminus of the proposed road, is, beyond dis- 
pute, the finest port, or, rather, "constellation of ports," 
on the enthe Pacific coast of America. It is fifty 
miles in length by about thirty in average width, per- 
fectly protected, and contains two or three large isl- 
ands, offering inner ports with ample water, and ad- 
mirable sites for towns and commercial and manufac- 
turino; establishments of all kinds. The three states 
of San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua touch upon 
it. Honduras, however, has far the largest front on 
the bay. The port of La Union, in the subordinate 
bay of the same name, is the principal port of San Sal- 
vador. Its trade last year amounted to something 
over $500,000, and the revenues to about $100,000. 
The principal port of Honduras is Amapala, on the 
island of Tigre. It is a free port, and is rapidly ad- 
vancing in importance, its population and trade hav- 
ing doubled within the past two years. An American 
company has erected on the island a large steam saw, 
planing, and shingle-mill, which is now in active and 
effective operation. This company is ready to contract 
for supplying cross-ties and lumber of all kinds for the 
construction of the Pacific section of the road, and for 
its various dependent edifices, such as stations, depots, 
etc. 

The precise point of termination on the bay will de- 
pend upon such considerations as may be disclosed 
from a careful examination by the engineers, and by 
other circumstances. The road may be carried to the 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 253 

port of San Lorenzo, at the head of the inner bay of 
that name, which possesses throughout not less than 
four fathoms of water. This line would run on dry, 
firm ground, but would involve a bridge of one hund- 
red feet in length over the Hio Nacaome. By the 
construction of a short causeway, or one hundred and 
fifty yards of pile bridging, the road could be conduct- 
ed upon the large island of Sacate Grande, to a point 
indicated in the chart, fronting upon a capacious and 
excellent anchorage. It might even, with some diffi- 
culty, be carried across the northern end of that island, 
and be made to terminate on the island of TigTe by 
means of a pile bridge a mile and a quarter long, over 
a strait having but six feet depth of water at low tide. 

The road can also be brought, without serious diffi- 
culty, to a point on the main land fronting on the Bay 
of Chismuyo, but here it would be necessary to carry 
out a wharf of considerable length, while at San Lo- 
renzo, Sacate Grande, and Tigre a wharf or dock of or- 
dinary length would enable the largest steamers to 
"tie up"" beside the depots of the company. 

The road could readily be made to terminate at La 
Union ; but as this w^ould involve going into another 
state, without attaining any object beyond what would 
be equally secured at the other points named, tlie fact 
is not of importance beyond showing the great facili- 
ties which the bay affords for the work in question. 

The chart of the Bay of Fonseca, from the survey 
made by Sir Edward Belcher, under the instructions 
of the British government, and published under the 
authorit}' ©f the Admiralty, precludes tlie necessity for 
any farther account of this remarkable bay, which 
seems to have been marked out by the Creator as the 
ultimate centre of the commerce of the Pacific. Salu- 



254 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

brious, surrounded by a country of illimitable agricul- 
tural resources, and with rich and exhaustless coal, 
gold, and silver mines inland ; abounding in fine fish, 
including excellent oysters, etc., etc. ; in short, possess- 
ing all the necessaries for sustaining a large and pros- 
perous population, the Bay of Fonseca is unrivaled 
in its adaptation for a terminus of a great work of 
miiversal utility like the one proposed. 

IX. GRADES.. 

In the construction, but to a still greater degree in 
the working of railways, the matter of grades is a most 
important consideration. From the preceding state- 
ments, it will be seen that the first fifty miles of the 
proposed road will have an average grade of seventeen 
feet to the mile, the next forty miles an average grade 
of twenty-five feet two inches to the mile. For the 
division of fifteen miles crossing the summit, the max- 
imum grade, irrespective of probable lessening of grades 
by a summit cut, will be fifty-five feet to the mile, 
and that only for a short distance. From thence to 
the Pacific the maximum grade will not exceed forty- 
five feet to the mile. The sum total of ascents and de- 
scents, from sea to sea, is four thousand seven hundred 
feet, which gives an average grade of a little over 
twenty-eight feet to the mile. The results are highly 
favorable, as will be seen from the following compar- 
ison: 

- TABLE OF MAXIMUM GEADES. 

Baltimore and Oliio Road, per mile . . 116 feet. 

Baltimore and Susquehanna, " . . . 90 " 

Boston and Albany, " . . 89 " 

New York and Erie, " . . . 60 " 

Panama (eastern slope), " . . 53 " 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 255 

Panama (Pacific slope), per mile . . 60 feet. 

*TeIiuantepec (proposed road), " . . 64 " 

Honduras (proposed road), " . . . 55 " 

The one hundred and sixteen feet grade on the Balti- 
more and Ohio road is eight and a half miles long ;'\ 
that is to sa}^, nine hundred and eighty-six feet of 
altitude, or nearly one half of the sum total of ascents 
on the proposed Honduras road, are overcome in this 
short distance. The sum of ascents and descents on 
the fii'st, or eastern division of the New York and Erie 
railway, a distance of seventy-one miles, is three thou- 
sand eight hundred and seventy-two feet, an average of 
fifty-four to the mile, or more than double the average 
grade of the proposed road. Heavy grades are, of 
course, objectionable, but the improvements which have 
been made in locomotive engines enable the engineer 
to overcome altitudes which have hitherto been deemed 
impossible to pass. 

Hitherto heavy grades have been avoided, at what- 
ever sacrifice, in favor of moderate grades, even Avhen 
the sum of ascents to be overcome has been the same. 
In other words, it has been thought that in a road one 
hundred miles long, leading to a summit of one thou- 
sand feet of altitude, an average and uniform gTade of 
ten feet per mile for the entire distance was preferable 
to eighty miles of level and twenty of a fifty feet per 
mile grade. But practically, the latter arrangement is 
said to have been found the best ; that is to say, the 

* The statement of grades at Tehuantepec is irrespective of half a mile of tun- 
neling. 

t " On this grade an engine weighing twenty-four tons, with a traction power 
of fifteen thousand one hundred and sixty pounds, has ascended with a train of 
loaded cars, weighing, in the aggregate, exclusive of tender, two hundred and eiorht 
tons, at a speed of from six t^o eight miles the hour. The same engine ascended 
the same grade with a passenger train of one hundred and eighteen tons at the 
speed of seventeen miles the hour." 



256 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

concentration of grades at one point, compensated by 
an auxiliary power, is generally believed to be most ad- 
vantageous both as regards cost and time. 

How far this principle can be applied advantageous- 
ly in the line of the proposed road, must be left to the 
discretion of the engineers to whom its construction 
may be confided. Fortunately, the nature of the coun- 
try admits of such discretion. There may be a consid- 
erable concentration of grades within ten miles on either 
side of the summit by approaching it directly; or the 
road may be located at the bases of the parallel ranges 
of hills, on lighter and more nearly uniform grades. 

By reference to the sectional map (^facing p. 69), 
which presents a profile of the line that the proposed 
road will follow, it will be seen that the disposition of 
grades is favorable to the general course of travel and 
traffic, the heaviest grades lying on the side of the Pa- 
cific, and the lightest on the side of the Atlantic, from 
which direction, it may be calculated, three fourths of 
the freight, and two thirds of the passengers going be- 
tween the seas, will pass. This is a consideration of no 
little importance in calculating the economic "working 
of the proposed road. 

X. LABOR, MATERIALS, AND CLIMATE. 

Nearly all the materials necessary for the construc- 
tion of the road exist on the line. There are inex- 
haustible quantities of the finest white and blue marble 
and sandstone, as also of the best pine, oak, and other 
\'arieties of useful timber. The country, with the ex- 
ception, perhaps, of a narrow belt on the northern coast, 
is cool and salubrious, and proper for the employment 
of extra-tropical labor. In this latter respect (that of 
labor), the proposed line is remarkably favored, for it 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway, 257 

is probable the amount that may be requu-ed for the 
Tiorthern division may be obtained from the mahoganj- 
cuttings on the coast. There is probably no equal 
number of men under the tropics so inured to hard la- 
bor and exposure, or so well instructed in precisely the 
land of work which will be required, as the mahogany- 
cutters. They are, furthermore, thoroughly disciplined, 
and accustomed to that unity of action so necessary to 
the prosecution of an enterprise like this. They are 
imsurpassed axemen, and expert in the clearing and 
irradino; of roads and construction of brido;es. 

The truck -roads in the mahogany cutting of the 
Messrs. Follin, on the Ulna, are often several miles in 
length, thirty feet in width, carefully leveled, grubbed, 
and bridged for the passage of loaded trucks drawn b^- 
six yoke of oxen. These roads are constructed by tash- 
irork^ at the average rate of about fifty yards per man 
per day; or say fifty dollars per mile. The pay of 
these men is fifteen dollars per month* and rations ; 
rlie latter consisting of a certain amount of flour and 
a fixed number of pounds of pork per week. Plantains, 
w^hich grow in the gi'eatest plenty on the coast, are sub- 
stituted, to a considerable extent, for flour. The huts 
Avhich the men occupy are constructed on the sjDot, and 
nre made of poles or canes, covered with palm-leaves, 
and seldom require more than half a day in building. 
A hammock swung from one corner to the other, a 
couj^le of stones to support the cooking utensils, and 
the habitation of the workman is complete. He has 
few artificial wants, and no winter to provide against 
or to interrupt his labors. All he requires is a cover- 
ing to protect him from the sun and the rain. 

* One half of this is now paid in goods at high rates. If the wages were paid 
wholly in cash, they would rule considcrablv lower — say at thirteen dollars. 



258 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

There is no doubt that the labor requisite to carry 
the road from the coast to the plains of the interior 
can all be obtained from this source. In the interior, 
and on the Pacific section, northern laborers can work 
with equal facility and less danger from the necessary 
exposure than in the United States. The greater part 
of the population of Central America exists on the Pa- 
cific coast, and on that division, therefore, a large sup- 
ply of labor could be relied upon from the States of 
San Salvador and Nicaragua, and from Honduras it- 
self Upon this point I am supported by the opinion 
of Lieutenant Jeffers, who says that on this portion of 
the line " native labor can be obtained from this (Hon- 
duras) and the adjoining states in sufficient quantity ; 
and, at the rate of wages (twenty-five cents per day), it 
would be very useful. There can, however, be no dif- 
ficulty in introducing foreign labor, and its employment 
will be more satisfactory.". 

After passing the plain of Sula, the country is very 
open, with frequent savannas. The pine and oak for- 
ests are seldom so dense as to prevent the explorer 
from riding freely in all directions. The location of 
the road, therefore, for two thirds of its length, will be 
comparatively easy ; and for this distance, also, the cost 
of clearing and grubbing will be diminished. 

Respecting the climate, I can only repeat what I 
have already written on the subject from the country 
itself. "I do not believe there is a more healthful, 
and there certainly is no more agreeable climate in the 
world than that of Honduras in general. In this re- 
spect, the country surpasses the best parts of Italy. 
The Pacific coast is superior to that of the Atlantic in 
respect of health, and settlers might establish them- 
selves around the Bay of Ponseca with no more risk 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 259 

than would attend any change of climate. Among tem- 
perate, cleanly peojDle, all other circumstances being 
equal, I have no doubt the average of life would be ten 
years longer on that coast and in the interior of the 
country than in New York. In the first place, pul- 
monary complaints, and. that large and fatal class of 
diseases resulting from colds and sudden chano;es of 
temj^erature, are here nearly or quite unknown. In- 
termittent fevers are less common than in our Western 
States, and yield more readily to the usual medicines. 
They are, after all, pretty much confined to persons of 
irregular habits, who disregard the precautions neces- 
sary to health in any climate. I have, for two years, 
undergone almost every kind of exposure and fatigue 
here, yet I have enjoyed uninterrupted good health — 
far better than I could have hoped to have enjoyed at 
home under similar circumstances." 

The temperature on the line of the road is, of course, 
highest at its extremities. But the high temperature 
of the coast does not hold far inland. The modifying 
influence of the neighboring mountains is felt even be- 
fore the increased altitude begins to have its natural 
effect. The temperature of Comayagua may be taken 
as approximately that of the entire line between the 
town of San Pedro Sula on the north, and that of Go- 
ascoran on the south ; that is to say, of about three 
fourths of the entire line. 

During the months of April, May, and June, which 
are the hottest of the year, the mean temperature, from 
six o'clock in the morning until the same hour in the 
evening, was 79° 1\ The highest or maximum point 
touched by the thermometer during these months was 
88° ; the lowest, or minimum, 68° ; an extreme range 
of 20°. 



260 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

The data bearing upon the temperature of the coun- 
try in general, but more particularly that of the north- 
ern and least salubrious portion, have been presented 
elsewhere. (See ante^ p. 32.) 

XL RESOURCES ON THE LINE OF ROAD. 

Apart from the rich agricultural resources of the 
country through which the proposed road will pass, 
embracing every variety of tropical staple — coffee, 
cochineal, cotton, cocoa, sugar, rice, tobacco, indigo, 
maize, etc., there are other vast and undeveloped 
sources of wealth. The valley of the Ulua abounds 
in valuable and precious woods, and the hills and 
mountains of the interior contain numberless mines of 
the precious metals. There is hardly a stream on the 
Atlantic slope of the Cordilleras which does not carry 
gold in greater or less quantity. Kecent examinations 
have shown that the sands of particular streams fuU}^ 
equal the placers of California in the extent and value 
of their yield. The silver mines of the interior, how- 
ever, are unsurpassed in the amount and richness of 
their ores ; and there is reason to believe, with the in- 
telligence, enterprise, industry, and capital which will 
inevitably flow into the country with the prosecution 
of the railway, that Honduras will become, in propor- 
tion to its territorial extent, the largest silver-produc- 
ing country in the world. 

In the enumeration of the products of the state hith- 
erto neglected, I may mention sarsaparilla, gum copal, 
India-rubber, gum arabic, fustic, dragon's-blood, vanil- 
la, Brazil wood, liquid amber, Peruvian bark, quinine, 
etc., etc. Cattle are numerous in the state, and con- 
stitute a considerable part of the wealth of the inhab- 
itants. Hides, therefore, which hardly pay to be car- 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 261 

ried to the coast on mules, Avill become an important 
article of export when new and cheap means of trans- 
portation are established. 

Altogether, the establishment of regular communi- 
cation with Honduras, and between its ports and the 
interior, w^ill ojDcn to the world a rich and virgin field 
for the industrious and enterprising, create new mar- 
kets for our manufactures, afford additional supplies 
for our use, and give a corresponding impulse to com- 
merce and trade. 

XII. interior navigation. 

The capacities of the rivers of Honduras, coincid- 
ing in their course with the line of the proposed road, 
for purposes of accessory and general navigation, have 
l^een incidentally alluded to in the foregoing para- 
graphs. As will be seen by the sketch map of the line 
of the road accompanying these notes, tlie large river 
Ulua and the smaller Rio Goascoran run parallel to 
the projected road. The first may now be navigated 
by steamers for a distance of upward of sixty miles from 
its mouth, and to a point within ninety-five miles of 
the Bay of Fonseca. The latter, with some improve- 
ments, may be made to serve a useful purpose in the 
rafting of timber and the transportation of materials 
of construction. 

In respect to the Rio Ulua, Lieutenant Jeffers ob- 
serves : 

"The mouth of the Kiver Ulua is obstructed by a 
bar, having at this time but nine feet of water upon it ; 
it may be said to be impassable for sailing vessels, as 
the outset is so strong that a fresh breeze is required 
to enable them to stem the current, and with a fresh 
breeze the sea is very heavy. Steamers drawing seven 



262 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS, [ChAP. XIV. 

feet may enter at all times, and, from June to Janu- 
ary, ascend as far as tlie junction of the Humuya. 

"At any time between March and December, ships 
may, and do, anchor off the mouth of the Ulua, loading 
mahogany. There is, however, a cove about one mile 
to the westward, where a landing may be better effected, 
and at all times except during the continuance of the 
northers. From this landing to the river the distance 
is but about two hundred and fifty yards, and a light- 
draught steamer can, from this point, always ascend to 
the mouth of the Humuya, or, by the Rio Blanco, to a 
point near Yojoa. 

"The Ulua can be used as accessory, and in the 
construction of the road may be of essential service ; 
it can be navigated by a light-draught steamer at all sea- 
sons as far as the junction of the rivers, and the Hu- 
muya, for several months, as far as the mouth of the 
Sulaco, but beyond that point the river can not be 
made of service except in rafting down timber. The 
numerous rapids, sudden rise and temporary duration 
of the floods, and the character of the bottom, com- 
posed entirely of sharp rocks, forbid all hopes of im- 
provement in the upper part of the river." 

The Venta or Santiago River, Avhich is the largest 
tributary of the Ulua, and which reaches into the rich 
departments of Santa Barbara and Gracias, can be 
navigated to some extent, as it is also possible the 
Chamelicon may be, at certain stages of the water. 
At any rate, the valleys of these streams offer advan- 
tageous means of communication with the departments 
above named, by improved cart or plank roads, for the 
construction of which all requisite materials are abund- 
ant on the sj)ot. 

Lieutenant Jeffers says of the Bio Goascoran: 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 263 

''The Goascoran may be made available as a means 
of transport in the winter, or, rather, ramy season, and 
with some improvements, at all seasons. The mouth 
of this stream is obstructed by a sand-bar, but may be 
entered on the tide at a quarter flood : this bar may be 
removed by dredging. Above these are obstructions, 
caused by natural dams of large boulders : by remov- 
ing these boulders from the centre of the river, Ave can 
create a series of ponds and sluices, forming a slack- 
water navigation as far as Caridad, probably to San 
Juan. For the purpose of rafting timber from above, 
should it be required, and transporting materials in 
boats, the river will be very serviceable." 

Notwithstanding the facilities wdiich the Ulna and 
other rivers may offer for navigation, it is not the pur- 
pose of the comj)any to use them excej^t as accessories 
in the construction of the road, in which respect the}* 
will be of great value. Frequent transhipments are 
inadmissible in any route of inter-oceanic communica- 
tion looking to permanence. 

xiii. summary of the charter. 

A charter for the construction of the proposed road 
was signed by Seiiors Don Leon Alvarado and Don 
Justo S. Rodas as commissioners of Honduras, and 
Mr, E. G. Squier as commissioner of the "Hondiu*as 
Inter-oceanic Hallway Companj^," on the 23d of June, 
1853, wdiich was subsequently ratified by the Legisla- 
ture of Honduras, and proclaimed by the j^rcsident of 
that republic, April 28th, 1854. It is far more liberal 
in its provisions than any charter ever conceded for 
any similar purpose, and, moreover, places the relations 
between the company and the state on a basis so plain 
and simple, and, withal, so mutually advantageous, as 



264 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

almost to preclude the possibility of difficulty or mis- 
understanding arising between them. The following 
is a rapid summary of its provisions : 

Section I. concedes to tlie company tlie exclusive right for an 
inter-oceanic communication, by water or railway, through tlie 
territories of Honduras, and gives to the company all the lands 
and natural materials necessary for the purpose. Eight years 
from the date of the ratification of the contract are conceded for 
the completion of the work, with privilege of extension in case 
of interruption from natural or unforeseen causes. The char- 
ter is for seventy years from the completion of the work pro- 
posed, at the end of which time the state may purchase the 
road at a fair valuation, or extend the charter, in its discre- 
tion. 

Section II. provides that the company shall have free passage 
over all lands, public or private, and concedes to the company a 
space of two hundred yards on each side of the line of the road ; 
free use of all timber, stone, or other natural materials ; free use 
of all the rivers and harbors of the state ; and free introduction 
of all machines, instruments, provisions, and other materials for 
the construction and use of the road. Native laborers employed 
on the road are exempt from civil or mihtary service. The 
company has the right to constitute itself a stock company, etc., 
and all of its rights, interests, and property are permanently ex- 
empt from taxation and charge on the part of the state. 

Section III. provides that the company shall pay to the state 
the sum of one dollar for each through passenger over ten years 
of age. The company wiU receive the labor of convicts from 
the state on equitable terms, and agrees to fix the rates for in- 
terior transit and trade on the lowest terms consistent with its 
interests. 

Section IV. provides that the citizens of the United States, 
and of all nations at peace with Honduras, shall pass over the 
route free of all taxes and charges, and without the requisition 
of passports. All goods and merchandise, in transitu^ shall 
also pass free of charges on the part of the state, with the ex- 
ception of a nominal sum for registry, to be paid by the com- 



Chap. XIY.] inter-oceaxic railway. 265 

pany. Baggage of passengers to pass witliout examination or 
charge of any kind. 

Section Y. makes a gift to tlie company of four thousand ca- 
ballerias of land, which, as the caballeria is fixed by law at one 
hundred and sixty acres, equals six hundred and forty thousand 
acres, or one thousand square miles. The company has also 
the exclusive right to jDurchase and locate, on the line of the road 
or elsewhere, an additional five thousand caballerias (eight hund- 
red thousand acres), at twelve and a half cents the acre, paya- 
ble in the stock of the company at par. All persons settling on 
the lands of the company are entitled to all the rights and priv- 
ileges of native-born citizens of the state, and are exempt for ten 
years from all kinds of taxes, and all civil or military service, 
except with their own consent. 

Section VI. stipulates that the ports at the extremities of the 
road shall be free j^orts. A commission of five persons, two 
named by the company and two by the state, who shall jointly 
elect a fifth, to constitute a " Tribunal of Reference," to frame 
all the necessary rules and regulations for carrying out the char- 
ter in its letter and spirit, and to decide finally and without ap- 
peal all disputes which may arise between the state and compa- 
ny. The government of Honduras to open negotiations with 
the leading maritime nations for the guarantee of the perpetual 
neutrality of the proposed route, in accordance with the Conven- 
tion of "Washington, July 5, 1850.* The company to have the 

* Extract from a Convention hciicceyi the United States and Great Britain, signed 
April 19, 1850 ; ratified and proelairned July 5, 1850. 
Article VIII. The governments of the United States and Great Britain having 
not only desired, in entering into this convention, to accompUsh a particular object, 
but al.so to establish a general principle, they hereby agree to extend their protec- 
tion by treaty stipulation to any other practicable communications, whether by ca- 
nal or railway, across the isthmus which connects North with South America, and 
especially to the inter-oceanic communications, should the same prove to be prac- 
ticable, whether by canal or railway, which are now proposed to be established by 
the way of the Tehuantepec or Panama. In granting, however, their protection 
^ to any such canals or railways as are by this article specified, it is always under- 
stood by the United States and Great Britiain that the parties constructing or own- 
ing the same shall impose no other charges or conditions of traflic thereupon than 
the aforesaid governments shall approve of as just and equitable ; and that the said 
canals or railways, being open to the citizens of the United States and Great Brit- 
ain on equal terms, shall also be open on like terms to the citizens and subjects of 



266 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

right to construct magnetic telegraphs. The government gives 
a bounty of fifty acres of land to each unmarried, and of seven- 
tj-five acres to each married laborer, who shall come to Hondu- 
ras to work on the road, and who shall declare his intention to 
become a citizen. 

In addition to this, tlie railway company, under the 
supplementary title of '"'■ Honduras Steamship and 
Navigation Company ^'^'' enjoys the privilege of "in- 
gress, egress, and passage to, from, and through the 
harbors, rivers, and waters of the state, free of all du- 
ties and charges of every kind." 

XIV. COMPARISON OF THE ISTHMUS ROUTES IN RESPECT OF 
DISTANCE. 

Time, not distance^ is the true measure of the rela- 
tions between places. 

The saving of time, of course, depends more or less 
on the distance to be traversed, and hence a shorten- 
ing of distance must always be an important element 
in calculating the advantages of the respective routes 
which have been proposed between the Atlantic States 
and California. But this is only one element. Good 
ports, where vessels may embark and disembark their 
freight and passengers with rapidity, at proper wharves, 
instead of through the means of small boats and light- 
ers, is another imjDortant element to be considered, not 
only in respect of economy of time, but in respect also 
of convenience, cost, and security. Another element 
is the possession of easily accessible ports, and a gen- 
eral sailing course free from opposing periodical winds, 
and other similar detaining and obstructing causes. 
And still another element, and one of primary import- 

every other state which is wiUing to grant thereto such protection as the United 
States and Great Britain engage to aftbrd. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 267 

ance, is the avoidance of harassing delays resulting from 
frequent transhipments. These not only consume time, 
but are fruitful in annoyance, a source of constant dread 
to the traveler, and, I rej^eat, wholly "inadmissible in 
any route of inter-oceanic communication looking to 
permanence." 

The proposed route ma Honduras may therefore 
claim, in respect not only of distance, but in freedom 
from detentions and delays resulting from bad ports, 
adverse winds, and frequent changes, a clear and em- 
phatic superiority over all routes which have been pro- 
posed across the Central American Isthmus. In re- 
spect of sailing distances, the following letter from 
Lieutenant Maury must be received as conclusive : 

"National Observatory, Washington, June 26, 1854. 

" E. G. Squiee, Esq. : 

" SlE, — In reply to your note requesting to know the sailing 
distance from New York to San Francisco, via the various isth- 
mus routes : 

" You are aware that these distances can not be accurately 
stated, unless from more accurate charts than we now have. I 
suppose you do not want the distances stated except fr-om port 
to port, exchisive of the distance to be run after the vessel cross- 
es the bar or enters the liarbor. I therefore send you the short- 
est steaming distance from port to port in round numbers. 

From New York to San Francisco, via Panama, 5200 miles. 

" " " " " Nicaragua, 4700 " 

" " " " " Honduras, 4200 " 

" " " Vera Cruz and Tehuantepec, 4200 " 

" No allowance is made in the above for the distance across 
the continent. Eespectftdly yours, 

" M. F. JVLauey." 

The distance across the continent at Panama is fifty- 
four statute miles, at Nicaragua one hundred and eighty- 
four, at Honduras one hundred and sixty, at Tchuan- 



268 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

tepee one hundred and eighty-six. Accordingly, the 
total distances are, from New York to San Francis- 
co, via Panama, five thousand two hundred and fifty- 
four miles ; Nicaragua, four thousand eight hundred 
and eighty-four miles ; Honduras, four thousand three 
hundred and sixty miles ; Tehuantepec, four thousand 
three hundred and eighty-six miles. 

But it is also to be considered that the shortest steam- 
ing course is not always a practicable one. Thus, after 
passing the Capes of Florida, steamers can not safely 
steer direct for Vera Cruz. They must keep well to 
the northward, to avoid the dangerous reefs, shoals, 
and low islands which embarrass the great Campeachy 
Bank to the north of Yucatan. This detour augments 
the sailing distance between New York and Tehuante- 
pec several hundred miles, and thus increases the rela- 
tive superiority, in respect of distance, of the proposed 
Honduras route. 

XV. COMPARISON OF ROUTES IN RESPECT OF PORTS.* 

In order to institute a fair and imj^artial comparison 
between the various inter-oceanic routes proposed or in 
actual operation, we must first inquire what are the 
purposes of each. Taking them in their order, Te- 
huantepec, Honduras, and Panama are claimed to be 
proper and feasible points for railways ; Nicaragua and 
Atrato for canal communications. We here leave out 

* " It is necessary to remark farther, that, irrespective of climate and political 
considerations, there is one chief requisite, one main point to be insisted on, in con- 
nection with any route or line intended to be available for general utility, without 
which permanent success will be impossible. This indispensable adjunct is a good 
port. Without such a place of resort at each end of any canal or railway, easy of 
access, and sheltered at all times, shipping could not effect objects securely, and in 
definite times. Delay, expense, and risk must be the consequence of using a route 
unprovided with adequate harborage." — Capt. Fitzkoy, R. N., Journal Royal Ge- 
ographical .Soc.jVol. XX., p. 165. 

\ 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 269 

the Chiriqui and Darien lines as exploded and imprac- 
ticable. Nicaragua is simply impracticable for a rail- 
way; that is to say, for a continuous road leading from 
one ocean to the other. A road built up the valley of 
the San Juan River w^ould require to be constructed 
through an unbroken wilderness, and, moreover, to be 
one hundred and nineteen miles in length. And even 
then a change to boats would become requisite to pass 
the lake (which can not be turned), with a resumption 
of land travel on the other side. The geographical po- 
sition of the Atrato line, to say nothing of its proxim- 
ity to the railway at Panama, renders a railway there 
unnecessary and valueless. The question of ports, then, 
as regards Atrato and Nicaragua, is of no consequence. 
It may nevertheless be observed that both are exceed- 
ingly defective in this respect. The present line of 
transit at Nicaragua has absolutely no port on the Pa- 
cific ; and an adequate terminus on that sea can not be 
found short of the port of Pealejo, a distance of up- 
ward of three hundred miles from San Juan de Nicar- 
agua. The Atrato route labors under the same disad- 
vantage on the Pacific, Cupica being small and exposed 
to the southwest ; while on the Atlantic, the Atrato 
Hiver has a bad bar, with only five feet of water. 

Nor is it necessary, in this connection, to give much 
consideration to Panama. Its Atlantic terminus is not 
less than seven degTces of latitude to the southward of 
the corresponding terminus of the Honduras line, while 
its Pacific terminus is not less than four days' sailing 
distance below the latitude of the corresponding term- 
inus of the Honduras line. Supposing all other cir- 
cumstances to be equal, the saving in distance of the 
Honduras over the Panama line excludes the latter 
from any claim to a comparison. But Panama has 



270 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

bad ports on both sides ; bad in respect to climate, and, 
if not absolutely unsafe on the Atlantic, certainly in- 
adequate ; while on the Pacific, the Bay of Panama, 
where vessels are compelled to lie several miles from 
the shore, can hardly be called a port. The time lost 
in effecting embarkation and disembarkation there, by 
means of small boats, to say nothing of the expense, 
annoyance, and danger, must always be a serious draw- 
back. 

It follows, then, that the routes which, in respect of 
latitude and consequent saving of distance, can bear a 
comparison with each other, are those of Honduras and 
Tehuantepec. In this respect, these are the only ones 
which meet the obvious requirements of commerce and 
travel. And here the general reader must bear in 
mind, that above lat. 14° N., the continent does not 
run north and south, but nearly east and west. The 
proposed northern terminus at Tehuantepec is in lat. 
18° 8' N. ; that of Honduras in lat. 15° 49' N. ; the 
southern termini in lat. 16° 12' and 13° 21' N. respect- 
ively. The absolute difference in latitude is therefore 
but 2° 19' ; and although Tehuantepec is in long. 94° 
30' W., and Honduras in long. 87° 57' W., it is im- 
material, in the voyage from New York to San Fran- 
cisco, for instance, whether the ivesting is made in the 
Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific, except, perhaps, that 
the Pacific is a smoother sea than the Gulf, and that it 
could be made in the first quicker and more easily than 
in the second. 

It would appear, then, that Tehuantepec has an ab- 
solute advantage over Honduras of 2° 19' of latitude, 
equal to 4° 38', or two hundred and seventy nautical 
miles in the whole voyage, as between New York and 
San Francisco. But this appcirent advantage is lost 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 271 

in consequence of certain difficulties in the navigation 
of the Gulf of Mexico, and of certain requirements in 
the only charter for a railway at Tehuantej^ec which 
may be regarded as having any vitality for the pres- 
ent, viz., that of "la Compaha Mista." This charter 
provides that the steamers running in connection with 
the proposed Tehuantepec road must sail to Vera Cruz, 
and that there all passengers and freight must be tran- 
shipped in Mexican bottoms before going to the Isth- 
mus. * 

Vera Cruz is established as the only port of entry on 
the Gulf AjDart from all the detention which this 
transhipment involves — the fatality of the climate of 
Vera Cruz, and the insecurity of its harbor, f all steam- 
ers from the Atlantic states must give the great bank 
of Campeachy, "with its thousand reefs and low islands, 
a wide berth, by keeping far to the northward. They 
can not, as I have already said, safely steer in a right 
line from the Straits of Florida for Vera Cruz, but 
must make a circuit to avoid the Alacranes and other 
dangerous impediments to navigation to the north of 
Yucatan, upon which the British West India Steam- 
ship Company lost a number of their best vessels, until 
strict orders were given to have them keep well to the 
northward of the Campeachy bank. 

Calculating the deflection from this cause, and the 
increase of distance involved in going to Vera Cruz, 
not only is the apparent advantage in favor of Tehuan- 
tepec over Honduras lost, but the aggTcgate distance 

* " Art. hi. The company is obliged to establifsh a line of steamers, sufficient 
for the service of the route of communication, under the Mexican flag, in accord- 
ance with the laws of the country, to run between Vera Cruz and the point in the 
Rio Coatzacoalcos where the rail-road shall commence." 

t " Vera Cruz docs not even deserve the name of roadstead ; it is a disagreeable 
anchorage among shallows." — Humdoldt, New Spaiii, vol. i., p. 2. 



272 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV, 

is so much increased as to give an absolute advantage 
to Honduras of moi^e than tivo hundred miles. 

I now come to the question of ports, upon which 
Ca23tain Fitzroy, in the quotation at the head of this 
section, has laid a stress which all who have investi- 
gated the subject are aware is not too emphatic. To 
avoid any imputation of unfairness in this matter, 
which is necessarily one of testimony, I shall content 
myself with quoting from authorities not open to sus- 
picion, whose impartiality can not be called in ques- 
tion, and who establish the fact that Tehuantepec has 
no ports worthy of the name on either sea. In respect 
to the Pacific terminus : 

"The port of Tehuantepec is not more favored by nature 
[than the coast of Nicaragua], It gives its name to tlie hurri- 
canes which blow from the N.W., and which prevent vessels 
from landing at the sniah ports of Sabinas and YentoscC \An- 
glice, " the windy"].* 

Referring to Tehuantepec, M. Michel Chevalier ob- 
serves, in his work on Inter-oceanic Communications, 
that 

" It would be necessary to remedy, if possible, the want of 
(I moderately convenierit jport on the Pacific. Tehuantepec 
scarcely deserves the name of roadstead. The sea recedes day 
by day from its shores ; the anchorage yearly becomes worse : 
the sand deposited by the Cliimalapa increases the height and 
extent of the bars of sand at the entrance of the first lake, in the 
second, and thence into the sea, and already is Tehuantepec ac- 
cessible to small vessels only." 

In fact, the plan of employing what is called the 
port of Tehuantepec was formally abandoned by the 
engineers of the Tehuantepec survey. They proj^ose 
to create an artificial port at Ventosa by the construc- 
tion of a "breakwater two thousand feet long," The 

* Humboldt, " New Spain," vol. i., p. 20. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 278 

diificultv, not to say impossibility, of constructing arti- 
ficial harbors to meet any important purpose, is too ob- 
vious and well understood to require remark. 

In one word, Teliuantepec has absolutely no port on 
the Pacific. It is even less favored on the Atlantic ; 
nor is it claimed that there is here the remotest resem- 
blance of what is understood by a port. 

This deficiency is proposed to be supplied by enter- 
ing the Coatzacoalcos River, which is without shelter 
at its mouth, and Avhich flows directly into the open 
sea. It has, moreover, a bar, which in bad weather 
would be impassable for vessels of a hundred tons. 
'■^At high ivater^ on the full and change^ the depth of 
water on the bar is about thirteen feet^ and falls as low 
as eleven feet,''"' is the confession of those who have iden- 
tified themselves with the Teliuantepec project. ''' Upon 
this point the authority of General Orbegoso, who was 
first employed by Seiior Garay to examine the Isthmus 
of Teliuantepec, can not be accepted. He reported 
twenty-one to twenty-three feet on the bar, while the 
engineers of the Tehuantepec Company found but from 
eleven to thirteen, and Commodore Perry but twelve 
feet. Sehor Moro seems to have been of the same 
school. He reported twentj-three feet on the bar at 
Boca Barra, at Tehuantepec, where the authority of 
the Tehuantepec report found But eight feet ! Never- 
theless, proceeding upon the erroneous assuniiition that 
the Coatzacoalcos carries eighteen feet at its bar in- 
stead of ten to thirteen. Captain Liot, Superintendent 
of the British West India steamers, observes : 

" The soundings given in the preceding remarks (even those 
most favorable to the Tehuantepec project) are e^^[(lently insuf- 
ficient for large vessels with full cargoes ; for, although the prin- 

* The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, being the Results of a Survey, etc., p. 115. 

s 



274 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

cipal channel of the bar were always to maintain a depth of eight- 
een feet (as Senor Orbegoso asserts it does, but afterward admits 
that, * under extraordinary circumstances, perhaps it does not'), 
how is a ship of six hundred tons burden, for instance (drawing 
eighteen feet of water, at least), to pass it ? If there were much 
swell on the bar, it would be perilous for vessels of even fifteen 
feet draught to attempt it. Thus, then, this projected ship-canal 
would avail only for vessels of and under three hundred tons 
burden, and, in the seasons of 'norths,' great risk would attend 
their approach to that part of the coast where there is neither 
port nor shelter nearer than Vera Cruz (one hundred and twen- 
ty miles upon a northwest bearing from the bar of the Coatza- 
coalcos); and, during 'norths,' the land thereabout is not only 
a 'dead lee shore,' but it forms a perfect ' cul de sac,'' out of 
which sailing vessels could not escape under canvas except by 
risking the passage of the bar (which shifts), and that they would 
scarcely dare without a pilot ; during a hard north, moreover, 
the surf on the coast is so heavy that pilots are unable to ' board' 
vessels, whatever their danger and distress may be."* 

Evidence to this effect, but even more emphatic in 
language, might be accumulated to an indefinite ex- 
tent, f 

* " Considerations upon the question of communication between the Atlantic and 
Pacific Oceans, by W. B. Liot," etc., p. 8. 

t Colonel Abeet, chief of the topographical bureau of the United States, in a 
review of the transits published by Congress, observes : 

" The gulf-bar can not be considered as affording more than twelve feet of water. 
U'pon the Pacific side there is no harbor. . . . Tehuantepec Bay is represented 
as shoal and much exposed, dangerous, and subject to frequent tempests." 

Commodore Shubrick, commanding the Pacific squadron, in a letter to the Sec- 
retary of the Navy, dated October 7, 1847, says : 

" There is, I understand, anchorage in the Bay of Tehuantepec, but all accounts 
igree with the letters of Mr. Forbes in describing it as exceedingly boisterous. 
Captain Hall says the hardest gales he ever experienced were in that bay, and the 
Spanish call it Ventosa." 

Again, Mr. J. H. Alexander, in a communication on the subject to the special 
Congress committee : 

" What was said just now as to the defects of the harbor of San Juan del Sur, in 
connection with the Nicaragua route, applies also to the consideration of another, 
which has attracted much attention — I mean that over the Isthmus of Tehuante- 
pec. . . In regard to the approaches on either side, Nature has been unkind ; 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic rmlway. 275 

As has already been observed, it has been proposed 
to remedy the deficiency of a port on the Pacific by 
the construction of an artificial harbor. To this end, 
it is designed to carry out a breakwater two thousand 

and Ventosa Bay, on the Pacific, is, in its very name (' the windy'), an apt expres- 
sion of the character of the roadstead ; while, on the Coatzacoalcos side, there is 
nothing to protect the entrance of the river from the northers of the Gulf of Mex- 
ico." — J. H. Alexander, Congressional Report, No. 145, 1849, p. 44. 

Lieutenant-colonel George W. Hughes, of the United States Topographical En- 
gineers, in a letter to the Secretary of State on the subject of '■ Inter-marine Com- 
munications," sums up his account of Tehuantepec in the following words: 

" One most serious objection to any communication across this isthmus for great 
commercial purposes is to be found in the want of safe and capacious harbors at 
either terminus. At the mouth of the Coatzacoalcos there is but twelve and a halt 
feet of water at low tide, and it is exposed to the full force of the northers which 
prevail from November till April. / have seen thirty ships stratded in a single 
norther in the jnoiith of March. It may be said that the bar may be removed, and 
an artificial harbor constructed at the mouth of the river. There is probably no 
more difficult problem in the system of engineering than the execution of such 
works under the best of circumstances ; but I am far from asserting that skill and 
money may not accomplish them. The mouth of the Coatzacoalcos is peculiarly 
ill adapted to such improvements, which would scarcely be inferior in magnitude 
to the harbor of Cherbourg, and would assuredly require the munificence and re- 
sources of a Louis XIV. for their execution. The bar, created by the action of a 
certain natural law, would, if removed, be immediately re-formed by the same cause 
to which it owes its origin, unless that cause should be so modified as to direct 
elsewhere the deposition of earthy matter ; and, in the present case, the question 
would be farther complicated by the silting up of the artificial harbor, if one should 
be built. Supposing that such a harbor should be constructed, it would still be lia- 
ble to the objection of the difficulty and danger of access, especially for sail vessels, 
in the season of the northers. . . . The whole shore of Tehuantepec is sub- 
ject to the visitation of terrific hurricanes (which take their name from the isth- 
mus), sweeping with resistless fury along this inhospitable coast, where the tem- 
pest-tossed mariner seeks in vain for a harbor of refuge, even for the smallest class 
of sea-going vessels. For this there seems to be no remedy ; the genius of man 
can not control the storms, and nature is constantly interposing new physical diffi- 
culties in the way of navigation." 

Mr. PiTM.\N, in his work on the Practicability of an Inter-oceanic Communication 
(p. 204), arrives at a precisely similar conclusion : 

" The prevailing weight of all extant authority shows that the mouth of the Riv- 
er Coatzacoalcos is not a sufficiently good port ; that there is not a port at the mouth 
of the River Tehuantepec capable of receiving ships of considerable tonnage, and 
that there is no means of making the present port better. . . From all these 

considerations, in addition to the before-mentioned reasons, it seems to be an una- 
voidable conclusion that the proposed route is unsafe, if not impracticable, for a 
ship navigation that would be adequate to extensive commerce." 



276 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

feet long, to a depth of thirty-six feet. It is only nec- 
essary to look at the annual Congressional appropria- 
tions for breakwaters on our own coast, apart from 
their original cost, and to consider their comparative 
inadequacy, in order to estimate the practical value of 
this proposition. 

The official survey of the entrance of the Rio Co- 
atzacoalcos by Commodore Perry, published by the 
government, shows but twelve feet of water on the 
bar in a channel but one hundred and fifty feet wide. 
Outside of the channel the water shoals to eleven, ten, 
and nine feet. 

The vessels which have been most largely employed 
in the California transit are the Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, 
etc., each having a capacity of upward of three thou- 
sand tons. The Falcon, one of the smallest of the 
ocean-going steamers, carries seven hundred and fifty 
tons, and draws fifteen feet of water, or three feet more 
than the total deiJth of ivater on the Coatzacoalcos har ! 
Tehuantepec, therefore, lacks the essential requisite of 
good ports : it has none worthy of the name, or capa- 
ble of meeting the ordinary conditions of an inter- 
oceanic transit, on either sea. It would be difficult, if 
not impossible, to find in the Gulf of Mexico, or any 
where else on the whole Atlantic coast of America, a 
more dangerous point, or one less suited for a termi- 
nus of a route of communication across the continent 
than Tehuantepec. The northers, sweeping down the 
great valley of the Mississippi, have here their greatest 
force and influence ; and, as observed by Captain Liot, 
no steamer or other vessel of ordinary sea-draught 
could cross .the Coatzacoalcos bar during then* j)reva- 
lence, which is for six months in the year, from Sep- 
tember to March. Ordinary waves are five or six feet 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 277 

from trough to crest, and with a moderate wind on 
shore, in conflict with the current of the river, the sea 
would break on the bar. Deducted from the total 
de23th, no sufficient depth of water remains to float a 
vessel of a size and draught proper to venture into 
the open sea. 

In respect to the climate of Tehuantepec, Senor 
Moro mentions that he had frequently seen the ther- 
mometer at Tehuantepec stand at 92° Fahr. at seven 
o'clock in the morning. The vomito (yellow fever), it 
is notorious, prevails along the whole coast of Mexico 
from Vera Cruz to Campeachy. 

XVI. comparison of routes in respect of safety. 

In fixing upon a permanent route of inter-oceanic 
communication in this age of scientific research and 
discovery, we are called upon to take into considera- 
tion not only the more obvious and palpable condi- 
tions requisite to the success of such an enterprise, 
but the incidental circumstances which may aiFect it. 
Within a few years attention has been dh^ected to 
winds and currents in their influences on navigation 
and commerce, and their careful investigation has al- 
ready led to important results, which are practically 
exemplified in enabling vessels to make their voyages 
with increased rapidity and safety. The aggregate of 
saving in time, property, and life, more valuable than 
all, is but inadequately comprehended by the public. 

Now, in making the voyage to the Central Ameri- 
can Isthmus, vessels are not only obliged to traverse 
more than one thousand miles of the w^aters of the 
Atlantic, the most turbulent of oceans, but, in order to 
avoid the currents of the Gulf Stream, to pass to the 
windward, or eastward, of Cuba. The outward, and 



278 



REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 



often the return track of the Panama and Nicaragua 
steamers is between Cuba and San Domingo, and of 
course to the eastward or outside of Jamaica. 

As a consequence, no sooner do they pass from the 
stormy Atlantic than they enter precisely that part of 
the Caribbean Sea most frequently swept by hurricanes. 
The two great centres of these terrible elemental visita- 
tions are the West Indies and the China Sea. Beyond 
these limits they are of comparatively rare occurrence. 

The accompanying chart, copied from the Standard 
Physical Atlas of Professor Johnston, shows the gen- 




eral course of the West India hurricanes, and the sub- 
joined table exhibits the date, and, so far as known, 
the range of the principal hurricanes which have oc- 
curred in the West Indies during the past one hund- 
red and fifty years. From these it will be seen that 
the West India hurricanes commence near the Lee- 
ward Islands, sweep toward the northwest, taking Ja- 
maica and Santo Domingo in their course, and after 
reaching the Gulf Stream, are deflected in the direction 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 



279 



T3 
>■ 

■3 

►J 

C 

Q 


Between Jamaica and Santa Marta. 

Porto Rico and St. Domingo. 

Porto Rico and St. Domingo. 

Jamaica. 

Jamaica. 

Jamaica. 

Cayman Island and Campeche. 

Altevala, St. Domingo. 

Barbadoes and Dominica. 

Windward of Antigua. 

Port Royal, Jamaica. 

Barbadoes. 

Bahamas, Carolina, Massachusetts, etc. (VIII.). 

St. Martin and St. Thomas (III.). 

St. Thomas (VI.). 

On the north of the Bahamas (IX.). 

On the north side of the Caribbee Isl'ds (VII.). 

Trinidad, Tobago, and Gi-anada (L). 

Barbadoes (II. ). 

Antigua, Nevis, St.Kitts, St. Thomas (V.). 

Barbadoes. 

Barbadoes, St. Vincent, St. Lucia. 

Barbadoes, etc. (XIll.). 

Antigua, St. Thomas, etc. (XIV.). 

North side of Little Antilles (XV.). 




1807, October 14. 
1809, August 3. 
1812, August 14. 

1812, October 12. 

1813, August 1. 
1815,Oct.l8andl9. 
1818, Sept. 10tol2. 
1818, Sept. 19. 
1818, Sept. 21. 
1818,Sept.22to25. 
1818, October 7. 


1819. 

1821, Sept. 1. 
1827, August 17. 
1830, August 12. 
1830, August 22. 

1830, Sept. 29. 
1831,. June 23. 

1831, August 10. 
1835, August 12. 


1835, Sept. 3. 
1835, July 10. 
1837, July 26. 
1837, August 2. 
1837, Aug. 16 to 25. 




■a 

H 


1 



a 
P 


Bai-badoes. 

Antigua. 

Antigua. 

Jamaica. 

Jamaica. 

Jamaica. 

Antigua. 

Jamaica. 

Jamaica. 

St. Domingo. 

Antigua. 

Savanna-la-Mar (Jamaica), (XL).* 

Barbadoes, Martinique, Porto Rico, 

Hayti, Bermuda (XII.). 
Jamaica. 
Jamaica. 
Jamaica. 
Jamaica. 
Jamaica. 
Antigua. 


Antigua, etc. (IV.). 

Bahamas. 

On the north side of the Bahamas. 

In the neighb'd of the Bahamas. 




1675, Aug. 31. 

1681. 

1707. 

1712, Aug. 28. 

1722, Aug. 28. 

1726, Oct. 22. 

1740. 

1744, Oct. 20. 

1751, Sept. 2. 

1766, Aug. 13 

1772. 


1780, Oct. 3. 

1780, Oct. 10. 

1781, Aug. 1. 

1784, July 30. 

1785, Aug. 27. 

1786, Oct. 20. 
1791, Oct. 20. 
1792. 


1795, Aug. 1. 

1804, Sept. 3. 
1804,Sept. 19. 

1805, July 25. 

1806, Sept. 





280 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

of its current to the northeast. They all, therefore, as 
well as the few which reach the Gulf of Mexico, cross 
the track of the Panama and Nicaragua steamers and 
vessels. 

It will be observed that of the fifty hurricanes, the 
ranges of which are above given, but tivo crossed the 
route which it is proposed to be followed by the Hon- 
duras line, namely, by land to Florida, and thence by 
steamers to Puerto Caballos. 

Again : it is precisely in the line of all communica- 
tion with Nicaragua and Panama that we find the re- 
gion of rotatory or Caribbean hurricanes, as laid down 
by Professor Johnston. These Avould be wholly avoid- 
ed by taking the direction of Honduras. 

Hence it appears that the proposed route of inter- 
oceanic communication by Avay of Honduras would be 
almost entirely free from the dangers resulting from 
hurricanes. When we consider that not far from sev- 
enty-five thousand persons now pass annually, by way 
of the Isthmus, from the Atlantic to the Pacific coasts 
of the continent, security from clangers of this kind be- 
comes an important consideration. The destruction of 
a merchant vessel, at the worst, involves but the loss 
of ten or twelve lives and a few thousand dollars of 
property, and, however deplorable the catastrophe may 
be regarded, it sinks into insignificance when compared 
with the loss of a California packet, with its five or six 
hundred passengers and millions of treasure. An im- 
portant result, therefore, is gained if danger from this 
source be obviated or diminished, for any diminution 
of the contingencies of travel must be regarded as a 
public good. 

There is still another point in the chart of Professor 
Johnston which deserves notice in this connection. It 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. • 281 

is the course of tlie "Nortes," or dreaded north winds 
of the Gulf of Mexico, which have been so often pro- 
ductive of the greatest disasters to shipping. These 
winds sweep down the valley of the Mississippi, and 
across the Gulf of Mexico, into the bight of the gulf 
lying between the peninsula of Yucatan and the lower 
states of Mexico. They blow with more or less con- 
stancy, and often Avith terrible force, for six months of 
the year, from September to March, on nearly a direct 
line from the mouth of the Mississippi to the Isthmus 
of Tehuantepec. As they advance across the gulf their 
force is auo-mented, and the contraction of the land con- 
tributes to give them a power, at times, almost equaling 
the hurricanes of the Antilles. This fact, in conjunc- 
tion with the circumstance that Tehuantepec has abso- 
lutely no port at its northern or gulf terminus, in which 
steamers or sailing vessels could find refuge, demon- 
strates its utter inadequacy for the great purpose of 
inter-oceanic communication. The impossibility of 
any vessel entering the River Coatzacoalcos, which 
opens due north, over a bar on which the maximum of 
water never exceeds fourteen feet, during the prevalence 
of the northers, wdien the waves run to half that depth, 
and leave scarcely more than a fathom of water on the 
bar, is obvious to the dullest apprehension and the 
most prejudiced mind. * 

XVII. COST OF construction AND PROBABLE REVENUES. 

I am well aware of the difiiculties in the wa}' of cal- 
culating the cost of a great work like that proposed 
across the Isthmus of Honduras, not less before than 
after an accurate and minute survey has been made ; 
and I am equally well aware that, in presenting any 
calculations of this kind, the cost of the Panama Kail- 



282 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

way will be adduced as a conclusive disproval of their 
accuracy, without a due consideration of the entirely 
different natural conditions of the two isthmuses of 
Panama and Honduras, and with a neglect of other 
circumstances of scarcely less importance. 

The Panama Railway has a total length of forty-nine 
miles, and has cost, according to the report of the com- 
pany presented to the Legislature of New York in Jan- 
uary last (1855), in round numbers, $5,000,000. An 
additional sum of $1,000,000 or $2,000,000 will be re- 
quired for the construction of an artificial j)ort in the 
Bay of Panama ; but this will be irrespective of the 
cost of the road proper, from which should be deducted 
the cost already incurred in creating the "City of As- 
pinwall" in Navy Bay, and which has certainly not 
been less than $500,000. 

The actual cost of the Panama Railway has there- 
fore been not far from $4,500,000, which, for forty- 
nine miles, gives an average cost, for building and 
equipment, of about $91, 000 per mile. Assuming one 
hundred and sixty miles as the total length of the pro- 
posed road in Honduras, the same rate per mile would 
give a total cost of $14,560,000. 

But I have no hesitation in claiming, in view of the 
different and more favorable conditions and circum- 
stances of the case, that the road through Honduras 
will not cost half as much per mile as has been ex- 
pended at Panama. 

I. The first twenty-three miles of the Panama Pail- 
way are through what may be almost called a continu- 
ous swamp, which, under the tropics, and within the 
zone of constant rains, is equivalent to saying that it 
is through a section of country of the worst possible 
character for the construction of a railway. For this 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 283 

distance, the greater part of the road had to be built 
upon piles and crib-work, and subsequently filled in 
with earth. And it is but just to say, that the diffi- 
culties encountered and overcome by the engineers of 
that road upon this section are such as have never 
been surmounted elsewhere, in any country, since the 
introduction of railways. That section of road must 
stand as a marvel of engineering daring, skill, and per- 
severance. But its construction has only been effected 
at a startling cost both of money and of life. It is 
precisely upon this section that by far the largest amount 
of the capital of the Panama company has been ex- 
pended. 

No swamps of any kind exist upon the line of the 
proposed road in Honduras, nor is it believed that one 
hundred yards of piling will be requisite throughout 
its extent. 

II. According to the Keport of the Panama Pail- 
way above quoted, "A cutting is encountered at the 
summit thirteen hundred feet in length and twenty- 
four feet in greatest depth, containing thirty thousand 
cubic yards of excavation, which was supposed to be 
of an easy description, but which was found to be en- 
tirely different from any other part of the isthmus, oc- 
cupying a large force more than two months in over- 
coming obstacles which were expected to be disposed 
of in as many weeks." 

No cuttings of this kind arc necessary upon the line 
of the proposed road in Honduras. 

III. The Isthmus of Panama, narrow, sparsely pop- 
ulated, and "Avithout supplies either of food or mate-* 
rials," rendered it "necessary for the company to send 
almost every thing from the United States. Even the 
timber for the cross-ties had to be obtained, " continues 



284 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

the report, "from the United States, or from distant 
parts of New Granada." 

By reference to a preceding paragraph (p. 256), it 
will be seen that every description of wood necessary 
for constructions on the proposed road in Honduras 
is found on the spot, or nearly on the spot where it 
will be needed. Mahogany, lignum-vit£e, cedar, oak, 
and pine are abundant, and the company of Americans 
who have established mills on the island of Tio're stand 
ready to contract for delivering the cross-ties for the 
entire road at prices below the ruling rates for which 
they are furnished in the United States. 

IV. In respect of labor, the Panama company has 
encountered many and almost insuperable obstacles. 
"The workmen," continues the above report, "wheth- 
er native or foreign, were conveyed to the Isthmus at 
a cost of from $15 to $50 each. They have been paid 
at rates far exceeding those given for similar services 
in the United States, and found in all their provisions, 
which were mostly sent out, as Avere also the cooks, 
from the United States. Sickness, " says the engineer- 
in-chief, "although bearing no proportion to the ex- 
aggerated reports which have been circulated, is nev- 
ertheless a serious item of expenditure. " 

Upon the question of labor, so far as it relates to the 
proposed road through Honduras, nothing need be said 
in addition to what has been presented in the preced- 
ing pages. It can scarcely be doubted that a sufficient 
supply of the most efficient laborers can be procured 
for the construction of the northern sections of the 
road from the mahogany-works of the coast. It is 
believed, also, that many of the proprietors of these 
works will be glad to become contractors on the road, 
as affording them an opportunity of transferring their 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 285 

material, cattle, trucks, etc., etc., from a business which 
is no longer profitable, to one which holds out the 
promise of adequate returns. Upon the remaining 
sections of the road, a large supply of labor can be re- 
lied upon from the populous state of San Salvador 
and from the native population of Honduras. Fur- 
thermore, the climate is such as will admit of the com- 
paratively easy and profitable introduction of foreign 
labor to any extent that may be desirable. 

V. It appears from the Panama report that one of 
the princij)al causes which delayed the opening of that 
railway for a period of eighteen months longer than 
was anticipated "were the unprecedented rains" of 
1853-4. Being under the zone of constant precipita- 
tion, with a merely nominal dry season, there can be 
no doubt that much of the heavy expenditure on the 
road, delay in its execution, and destruction of life with 
which its prosecution was attended, resulted from this 
cause. In this respect, Honduras oiFers a most de- 
cided and favorable contrast. 

Again, Honduras aflbrds an abundant supply of cat- 
tle broken to the yoke for trucking, and any desirable 
quantity of fine beef for food, at rates probably lower 
than any country in the world, excepting, perhaps, some 
of the states of Buenos A}Tes. Nor can there be any 
doubt, with a population of nearly one hundred thou- 
sand existing on the line of the proposed road, or in 
its neighborhood, in a country of illimitable productive- 
ness, that maize, plantains, yucas, and, in short, every 
variety of troj)ical vegetables, will be supplied to meet 
every demand. 

In view of all these considerations, not less than of 
the fact that, even in what is called the rainy season, 
there need be no suspension of labor on the works, I 



286 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

am warranted in saying that the cost of constructing 
the Honduras railway will be, per mile, materially less 
than half what it has been on the Panama railway ; 
that is to say, not exceeding $7,000,000 as the entire 
cost of construction and equipment. 

In reference to the economic working of the proposed 
road, no comparison need be instituted in view of the 
obvious great cost of keeping in repair and working a 
railway in such a climate, and in a country so destitute 
of resources as that of the Isthmus of Panama. 

The probable cost of the Tehuantepec road, as esti- 
mated b}^ its engineers, exclusive of the indefinite cost 
of building a breakwater and constructing a. port in the 
Bay of Yentosa, as also exclusive of the proposed ex- 
cavation of the bar of the Coatzacoalcos, is as follows : 
Exclusive of equipment . . . $6,729,000 

Equipment, etc 1,118,000 

Total cost . . $7,847,000 

Ordinary wharves of sixty feet in length, both at Pu- 
erto Caballos and in the Bay of Fonseca, would enable 
the largest ocean-going steamers to tie up by the side 
of the depots of the Honduras road with the greatest 
ease and in perfect security. The cost, therefore, of 
deepening the mouth of the Rio Coatzacoalcos, and of 
building an artificial port at Ventosa Bay, even if these 
operations were possible in the case of Tehuantepec, 
and of building up a terminus on a swamp}^ island in 
an inadequate port, and constructing an artificial port 
in the Bay of Panama, as in the case of the Panama 
railway — the entire cost of these heavy undertakings is 
obviated, in the case of the Honduras road, by the great 
and controlling fact of the existence of unexceptionable 
ports at both of its extremities. 

In respect of the probable revenues of the Honduras 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 287 

road, from what has been said it will be seen that its 
construction wall effect a positive saving of from five 
to eight days of time over any route of transit now in 
existence or likely to be constructed. All other cir- 
cumstances being equal, this fact alone would give it 
the entire travel as between the Atlantic States and 
California. But wdien we add to this the ease with 
which the transit would be effected as com^Dared with 
the frequent changes and transhij)ments on the Nicai'- 
agua line, and the embarkation and disembarkation at 
Panama (where steamers on the Pacific side have to lie 
several miles from shore, and where passengers and 
freight have to be taken on and off in small boats and 
lighters), then this advantage becomes greatly enhanced. 
Add to this the great fact of a salubrious climate, free 
from the "Chagres fevers" and "San Juan calenturas^'''' 
and the great superiority of the Honduras line above 
all others becomes more manifest, and warrants the as- 
sertion that it would attract the entire travel between 
the two seas. The mails would, of course, take the 
speediest route ; and a large amount of freight, which, 
in consequence of the difficulties that I have enumer- 
ated, can not now be carried over either the Panama 
or Nicaragua line, would also take this du-ection. Fif- 
teen cents per pound, or three hundred dollars per ton, 
is the present cost of transporting freight across the 
Nicaraguan isthmus ! 

The immediate sources of revenue, therefore, upon 
which the proposed road could rely, are mails, passen- 
gers, express and other freight, including the trans- 
portation of bullion. 

There is another consideration connected with the 
project of opening a railway through Honduras, viz.. 
the fact that the country itself has vast resources, miii- 



288 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

eral and agricultural, whicli the construction of the road 
would rapidly develop, and which, in turn, would create 
a profitable and constantly increasing traffic for the 
road. It is not too much to anticipate that a country 
so favored in respect of soil and climate would attract 
to its shores a large emigration just as soon as the es- 
tablishment of lines of steamers and the opening of in- 
terior means of communication would enable men to 
direct their enterprise thither with prospect of profit 
or of acquiring a competence. But, leaving out of view 
these prospective considerations, as well as the constant 
increase in travel and trade as between the two seas, 
still the positive existing sources of reve7iue are suffi- 
cient to make the proposed road one of the most prof- 
itable in the world. 

The authors of the Heport on the Isthmus of Tehu- 
antepec (a work of value, to which I cheerfully yield 
my highest commendations for its large and well-digest- 
ed collection of facts) have calculated that, for the four 
years preceding 1852, the number of passengers be- 
tween the Atlantic States of the United States and 
California was 412,942, of which 241,522 went byway 
of Panama and Nicaragua (the route last named hav- 
ingthen just been opened). They calculated the amount 
of freight which had been carried across the isthmus 
during the same period at 47,000 tons, the amount of 
gold at $138,620,000, and the average weight of mails 
per each steamer, 9000 lbs. In addition to the passen- 
gers above enumerated, 11,021 went to California by 
way of Cape Horn. 

Leaving out the year 1848, it appears that, for the 
three remaining years, the annual emigration between 
the Atlantic States and California, including that over- 
land, amounted to 141, 350. Of these, 80, 190 went an- 
nually by sea. 



Chap. XIY.] inter-oceanic railway. 289 

It may be alleged that these figures relate to years 
when the California emigration was at its height, and 
that the average returns wdll now fall below these num- 
bers. But such is not the fact. The number of pas- 
sengers between the Atlantic States and California for 
1854, it is well known, was materially diminished by 
the general financial depression during the last six 
months of that year. Nevertheless, the arrivals and 
de]3artures by sea from San Francisco amounted to 
59,000.* The number of arrivals and departures for 
the last six months of the year was 9000 less than dur- 
ing the first six months. In other words, had the cur- 
rent of travel been sustained at the rate wdth which 
the year opened, the emigration Avould have come up 
to 70,000 persons, irrespective of the arrivals and de- 
partures by land. 

This statement respecting the number of arrivals 
and departures from California is from a table pub- 
lished in a recent California newspaper. I find, on 
application at the New York Custom-house, the follow- 
ing statement of departures and arrivals for this city : 

Departures froTTh New T'ork for California, and Arrivals at 
Neio York from California, by steamers, for the year end- 
ing March l^th, 1855. 

Departukes per JSFicaraguan steamers . . 13,373 
" " Panama " . . 11,746 

" " Independent " . . 4,172 

Arrivals per Nicaraguan steamers . . . 11,195 
" " Panama " ... 8,025 

" " Independent, " ... 3,340 

Total . . . 51,851 

* This is irrespective of 16,084 Chinese who arrived in San Francisco during 
the same period. But 2330 Ciiinese returned during this period, so that the net 
accession of Chinese to the population of California for the year amounted to 
13,754! 

T 



290 REPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

This is irrespective of passengers for South America 
and the Pacific ports generally, apart from California. 
These figures are conclusive upon one point of much 
importance in calculating the revenues of the proposed 
Honduras road, viz., that passengers will ahvays tahe 
the shortest or speediest route between given points. 
The Nicaragua route is about two days shorter than 
that by Panama, and this circumstance has given it a 
majority of the passengers between the seas, notwith- 
standing that its steamers are inferior in accommoda- 
tions and management to those sailing to Panama, and 
notwithstanding that it has miserable boats on the 
River San Juan, and not less than from four to six 
transhipments, according to the season. In the dry 
season, when the water in the river is low, besides the 
transfers at San Juan del Norte and San Juan del 
Sur, there are changes at the Rapids of Machuca, the 
Rapids del Castillo, Rapids del Toro, and at Virgin 
Bay. There are transhipments in all seasons at the 
Castillo and at Virgin Bay. The revenues to be de- 
rived from freight could not fail to increase in amount 
Avith every year. Indeed, there is no parallel to the 
rapidity with which our trade with the Pacific has 
been developed. The amount of tonnage which cleared 
from the ports of the United States for the Sandwich 
Islands, China, East Indies, and the Pacific Ocean gen- 
erally, exclusive of California and Oregon^ for three 
years, from 1850 to 1852 inclusive, was as follows: 



Years. 


American. 


Foreign. 


Total. 


1850, 


93,588 tons. 


11,640 tons. 


115,228 


1851, 


114,330 " 


20,880 " 


135,210 


1852, 


198,210 " 


91,640 " 


289,850 



Increase in two years, 173,522 tons, or about 140 per 

cent. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-ocbanic railway. 291 

Apart, liOAvever, from all speculations of this kind, 
there exist positive data for estimating the prospective 
revenues of the proposed road, derived from the expe- 
rience of a single section of the Panama railway. I 
copy from the report of the directors of the company 
to the Legislature of New York : 

" Heceipts. — The gross receipts to February, 1854, being for 
most of the time firom 23 miles of road, were $771,526 41 

And from February, 1854, to October 31, 1854, 

during which period 31 miles were open . 416,000 00 

Gross receipts .... $1,187,526 41 

The running expenses were $324,720 95 
Credit to New Granadian gov't. 13,090 28 
Transportation of mails . 217,632 63 

New Granada's proportion for mails 3,470 68 

558,914 54 



I 



Net receipts $628,611 87 

Out of which and the estimated receipts for November and De- 
cember there have been paid dividends as follows : 
July, 1853, 5 per cent, on $2,194,062 10 $109,703 10 
January, 1854, 3^ per cent, on 2,716,372 00 95,080 02 

July, 1854, ^ per cent, on 2,832,000 00 99,120 00 
January, 1855, ^ per cent, on 2,875,000 00 100,625 00 

Total $404,928 12 

besides paying the interest on bonds." 

That is to say, with but thirty-one miles of road open, 
and carrying less than one half of the passengers be- 
tween the seas, still the road has paid, for eight months, 
at the rate of $52,000 per month, equal to $624,000 
per annum. Had the road possessed a monopoly of 
the transit, as the proposed road in Honduras would 
be certain to seciu-e for itself, its revenues would have 
been not less than at the rate of $1,250,000 per an- 
num on thirty-one miles of road, equal to a gross 
receipt of twenty-five per cent, per annum upon the 



292 KEPUBLIC OF HONDURAS. [ChAP. XIV. 

cost of the entire road. The cost of working the road, 
it will be seen, has been less than one half the gross 
receipts, and, at the same rate for the future, would 
leave the net profit of the road not less than fifteen per 
cent, on its capital! 

Now the diminished cost of working the Honduras 
road, resulting from fhe greater cheapness and abund- 
ance of supplies of all kinds, joined to the diminished 
cost of keeping it in rejDair as compared with Panama, 
would unquestionably, on the same basis of gross re- 
ceipts, enable it to pay an annual interest on its esti- 
mated total cost of $7,000,000 of not less than eight- 
een j)er cent. 

In other words, I estimate that the revenues which 
would accrue to the Honduras road, were it now in op- 
eration, at not less than $1,750,000 per annum. By 
the natural increase of travel and trade, it may safe- 
ly be assumed that this amount would be swelled to 
$2,000,000 per annum by the time the road could be 
completed, were it to be commenced immediately. 

There are other considerations which, although not 
directly connected with the profits of the road in itself, 
should not be overlooked. I mean the great public ad- 
vantages which would result from the opening of the 
proj)osed communication. It is demonstrable that, if 
the road were built, there would be an absolute aver- 
age saving of time in the voyage between the Atlantic 
States and California of not less than seven days. It 
would therefore result : 

I. That, on the basis of 70, 000 passengers per annum, 
there would be an aggregate saving of 490, 000 days to 
the public. At two dollars per day, a low valuation 
of time in the United States, this would equal in round 
numbers $1,000,000. 



Chap. XIV.] inter-oceanic railway. 293 

II. The saving in the form of interest, insurance, 
etc., etc., on the precious metals in transit. 

III. The saving of seven days in the transmission 
of the mails, and the consequent increased facilities in 
the transaction of business as between the Atlantic and 
Pacific coasts of the continent. 

I am perfectly aware that there are many whose in- 
terests and prejudices will lead them to denounce all 
these estimates as bold and unfounded assertions. But 
sooner or later the road through Honduras will be built, 
and I am willing to risk my judgment on the practical 
issue, viz. : 

That its construction will be effected at a cost not 
exceeding $7,000,000; that its average revenues for 
the first four years of its working will not be less than 
$2,000,000 per annum ; and, finally, that it "will effect 
an average saving of time over existing routes of not 
less than seven days in the voyage between New York 
and California. 



SAI SALVADOR. 



CHAPTER XY. 

REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPO- 
GRAPHICAL FEATURES PRODUCTIONS, REVENUES, ETC. 

'T^HE State of San Salvador lies upon the Pacific 
-^ Ocean, between the parallels of 13° and 14° 10^ N. 
latitude, and the meridians of 87° and 90° W. lonsfi- 
tude. It has a coast-line of about one hundi'ed and 
sixty miles, extending from the Bay of Fonseca to the 
E-iver Paza, which divides it from Guatemala. Al- 
though the smallest of the Central American states, it 
has relatively the largest population, most industry, 
and the largest commerce. 

SAN SALVADOR— Capital, SAN SALVADOR. 



Departments. 


Capitals. 


Population. 


San ]\Iiguel 

San Vicente 

La Paz 

Cuscatlan 

San Salvador .... 
Sonsonate 


San Miguel 

San Vicente 

Sacatecoluca 

Suchitoto 

San Salvador .... 
Santa Anna 


80,000 
56,000 
28,000 
75,000 
80,000 
75,000 


Total 


394,000 





The area of the state is, approximately, nine thou- 
sand six hundred square miles, or one thousand and 
sixty-six square leagues, * nearly equal to that of Ver- 

* Mr. Baily estimates the area of this state at five hundred and seventy-seven 
square leagues, which is manifestly erroneous. He puts Chiquirin Point, the 
southeastern extremity of the state, in long. 87° 42' W., and the Rio Paza in long. 
89° 50' W., while it is in long. 90° 15' W., a difference of about twenty-five miles 



296 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

inont, and somewhat greater than that of New Hamp- 
shire. 

The topographical features of San Salvador are re- 
markable. The coast presents, for the most part, a 
belt of low, rich alluvial land, varying in width from 
ten to twenty miles. Back of this, and presenting an 
abrupt face seaward, rises what may be called a coast- 
range of mountains, or, rather, a broad plateau, which 
has an average elevation of about two thousand feet, 
and is relieved by numerous high volcanic peaks. 

Between this range and the great primitive chain of 
the Cordilleras lies a broad valley, varying in width 
from twenty to thirty miles, and having a length of 
upward of one hundred miles. The coast plateau sub- 
sides generally toward this magnificent valley, which is 
drained by the great Biver Lempa, and is unsurpassed 
for beauty and fertility by any equal extent of countr}* 
under the tropics. Its northern border rests upon the 
flank of the mountains of Honduras, which tower above 
it to the height of six or eight thousand feet, and is 
comparatively broken and rugged. To the south of the 
Lempa, however, the country rises from the immediate 
and proper valley of the river, first by a terrace with a 
very abrupt face, and afterward by a gradual slope to 
the summit of the plateau. This feature is illustrated 
in the physical section already presented facing p. 69. 
Another considerable basin, of great beauty and fertil- 
ity, is formed by the system of small rivers which rise 
in the western parts of the state, around the feet of the 
volcano of Santa Anna, and fall into the sea near Son- 

in the total length of the state. This is not the sole error. He calculates the 
coast-line of the state at forty-five to fifty leagues, which, on the assumption that 
the state has an area of five hundred and seventy-seven square leagues, would give 
but about eleven leagues of average width, which is palpably wrong. Its average 
width is upward of twenty leagues. 



Chap. XV.] mountains and rivers. 297 

senate. It forms a triangle, the base resting on the 
sea, and the apex defined by the volcano. Another 
and still larger basin is that of the Rio San Miguel, 
lying transversely to the valley of the Rio Lempa, in 
the eastern division of the state, and separated only by 
detached mountains from the Bay of Fonseca. 

The mountain system of San Salvador, if its isolated 
volcanoes and volcanic groups can be called a system. 
is peculiar and interesting. Not less than eleven great 
volcanoes bristle along the crest of the plateau wdiich I 
have described as intervening between the valley of the 
Lempa and the sea. They form nearly a right line 
from northwest to southeast, accurately coinciding with 
the great line of volcanic action, which is clearly de- 
fined from Mexico to Peru. Commencino- on the side 
of Guatemala, they occur in the following order, viz., 
Apeneca, Santa Anna, Izalco, San Salvador, San Vi- 
cente, Usulutan, Tecapa, Sacatecoluca, Chinemeca, San 
Miguel, and Conchagua. There are also some others 
of less note, besides numerous extinct craters, some- 
times filled with water, and various volcanic vents or 
orifices called "Infernillos." In the Bay of Fonseca 
the series is represented by the volcanic island peak 
of Tigre, and is resumed on the opposite shore by 
the memorable Coseguina, succeeded by El Viejo, Te- 
lica, Momotombo, and the other volcanoes of Nicara- 
gua. 

The Bio Lempa, considered under every point of 
view, is iniquestionably the most iiTiportant natural 
feature of San Salvador. In respect of size it ranks 
with the Motagua in Guatemala, and the Ulua and 
Segovia in Honduras. For a considerable jiart of its 
course it is a navigable stream, and therefore destined 
to become of great value in the development of the re- 



298 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

sources of the state. It rises on the confines of Guate- 
mala, at the foot of the high peak (sometimes called 
volcano) of Chingo, and flows in a southeast direction, 
through the great basin which I have described, for a 
distance of more than one hundred miles, when it turns 
abruptly to the south, and, breaking through the coast- 
range, finds its way, a distance of fifty miles farther, to 
the sea. Its mouth, according to the Conde de Gtiey- 
don (who visited this coast in command of the French 
brig-of-war "Genio"in 1847), is in lat. 13° W 30" N., 
and long. 91° 1' W. from Paris, equivalent to 88° 41' 
W. from Greenwich. 

The Lempa receives several considerable tributaries 
from the north, the principal of which are the Sum- 
pul, Guarajambala, and Torola. The Sumpul rises on 
the confines of Guatemala, near Esquipulas, and flows 
on a course nearly parallel with the Lempa for upward 
of ninety miles before joining the latter. Throughout 
its length it constitutes the boundary between the- 
states of Honduras and San Salvador. * It flows, for 
the most part, among high mountains, in a narrow 
valley, aflfording but little room for cultivation. The 
Torola is a much smaller stream, rising in the Mount- 
ains of San Juan, in Honduras, and flowing southAvest 
into the Lempa. For the greater part of its course, 
in common with the Sumpul, it divides the two states 
above named. It collects its waters in a section of 
country remarkable for its mineral wealth. The trib- 
utaries of the Lempa from the south are, the outlet of 
Lake Guija, Rio QuesalajDa, rising near the city of San 

* Mr. Baily, in his Map of Central America, makes the Lempa proper the 
boundary between Honduras and San Salvador, whereas, for nearly the whole of 
its course, it flows through the very centre of the latter state. It forms the bound- 
ary between these states for only a very few miles, from the mouth of the Sumpul 
to that of the Torola. 



Chap. XV.] the river lempa. 299 

Salvador, the Titiguapa, and Acajuapa, rising near San 
Vicente, all comparatively small streams. 

I crossed the Lempa at two points ; the first more 
than a hundred miles above its mouth, near the city 
of Suchitoto, and the second about thirty miles above 
its mouth, on the camino real between the cities of 
San Vicente and San Miguel. The time of my cross- 
ing at Suchitoto was the latter part of Juty, 1853, or 
about the middle of the rainy season. The river at 
that point was then not less than one hundred and 
thirty yards broad, deep, and so rapid that the mules 
swam across with difficulty. The banks, although only 
of moderate height, are here seldom if ever overflowed, 
and, from the various indications on the shore, I should 
estimate the greatest rise of water during the floods at 
not more than from fifteen to eighteen feet. 

At the second point, where I crossed it (called "La 
Barca") on the first of September, 1853, it is a mag- 
nificent stream, upward of two hundred yards in width, 
and flowing with a strong, deep current. The coun- 
try on both sides is flat, but elevated from fifteen to 
twenty-five feet above the water at its average stage. 
The houses at the crossing I computed to be twenty- 
one feet above the water in the river, which was then 
high, and probably not less than five feet above its av- 
erage stage. Yet, during the great rain or Teiivporal 
of October, 1852, the water rose two and an eighth 
Spanish varas in the houses, equal to ticenty-eight feet 
above the stage marked at the time of my visit, or not 
far from thirty-five feet above ordinary or average 
stage! The whole surrounding country was over- 
flowed, and the people at the ferry carried the large 
barges in which they escaped upward of six miles in- 
land. This rise, however, was unprecedented, and the 



300 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

result of heavy rains such as had never before been 
known in the country.* 

The river was examined about three miles above 
"La Barca," by order of the government of San Sal- 
vador, in 1852, with a view to the erection of a sus- 
pension bridge. The jjoint selected was one where the 
stream is compressed by high banks. The width here 
was found to be one hundred and fifty-two varas^ and 
the depths, measured at intervals of ten yards, were 
as follows, in feet, commencing at the left shore, viz., 
6, 10, 12, 15, 14, 12, 11, 10, 9, 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3i, 3, which 
gives an average depth of nine feet at ordinary stages 
of the water. Assuming a current of three and a half 
miles per hour — and it is probably greater- — we find 
the river at this point, and at low stage, discharging 
1,227,150 cubic feet of water per minute. 

From these data it results that, unless obstructed by 
shallows and falls, the Lempa must be navigable for 
steamers of light draught for nearly one hundred miles 
above its mouth. I did not learn of the existence of 
any such obstacles, and, although the current is strong, 
I think the river is available for steamers such as are 
in constant use on our Western waters. At present 
it is little used, owing to the difficulty, if not impossi- 
bility, of ascending the river in boats proper for com- 
mercial purposes without the aid of steam. 

The mouth of the Lempa is obstructed by a bad bar, 
carrying but six feet of water, but the estero of Jalte- 
peque approaches to within a league of the river, 
which, in fact, is connected with it by a natural canal, 

* An account of this sudden rise of the river at this point was written at 
the time of its occurrence hy Seiior Don Jose Maria Cacho, and published in " JE/ 
Siglo de San Salvador," Nov. 5, 1852. Seiior Cacho was detained at the huts of 
La Barca during the flood. From his account, the river must have risen not less 
than fifteen feet in a single night. 



Chap. XV.] rivers and lakes. 301 

through which the water flows at high stage in the 
river. The land between the river and estero is low, 
and the two might be permanently connected by means 
of a new canal, or by deepening the channel which 
now exists. The Bay of Jiquilisco (Espiritu Santo) 
sends some considerable estuaries to within a short 
distance of the Lempa, if, indeed, they do not connect 
with it. Both Espiritu Santo, the port of which Avas 
named, in 1846, Puerto del Triunfo, and the port of La 
Concordia, have every necessary capacity for commer- 
cial purposes. The Count de Giieydon reported, in 
reference to the first named, that it is always easy for 
merchant vessels to pass the bar, since at low tide there 
is never less than twelve feet of water on it, and at 
high tide twentj^-two feet. 

The Rio Paza (or Pazaca), separating San Salvador 
from Guatemala, and the Bio San Miguel, are the only 
remaining rivers of considerable size in San Salvador. 
The latter drains a considerable geographical basin, of 
great fertility, but for the most part low and unhealtliy. 
In common with the Jiboa, Comolapa, and numerous 
other small streams flowins; into tlie Pacific from the 
volcanic coast-range or j)lateau, these rivers take the 
form of estuaries in passing tlirough the low country 
bordering the sea, and become navigable for small boats. 

San Salvador has two considerable lakes, one in the 
nortliwestern part of the state, called Guija or Guijar, 
and another, very nearly in tlie centre of the state, 
named Ilopango or CojutejDcque. The former is said 
to be about fifteen miles in length by six in width. It 
receives several considerable streams, and discharges it- 
self into the Bio Lempa, of wliich it may be regarded 
:i3 one of the principal sources. It abounds with fish 
of good quality. There is a large island in this lake, 



302 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

on which, according to Juarros, are some ancient ruins, 
called by the natives Zacualpa, i. e., Old Town. Lake 
Ilopango is about twelve miles long by perhaps five 
in greatest width, and is clearly of volcanic origin. It 
seems to have been an ancient crater, and is surround- 
ed on every side by high, abrupt hills, composed of 
scoria and volcanic stones. It receives no tributary 
streams, although it has a small outlet, flowing through 
a deep ravine into the Rio Jiboa, near the base of the 
volcano of San Vicente. The surface of the water is 
not less than twelve hundred feet below the general 
level of the surrounding country, which, as will be seen 
farther on, is wholly volcanic* 

In addition to these princi]3al lakes, there are others 
of comparatively small size, which are simple extinct 
craters, or were caused by the subsidence of the earth 
during volcanic convulsions. They rarely have out- 
lets, and the water which they contain is generally im- 

* " Toward the southern shore, but at a considerable distance, there are three or 
four small islets, or rather rocks, a little above the surface of the water. In the 
lake there is very rarely a perceptible increase, but the depth is very great ; and 
as there is no remembrance of its having been sounded at any period, the popular 
opinion of its being unfathomable has obtained implicit credence with the illiterate 
inhabitants of the adjacent towns. The water, when taken up, is beautifully pel- 
lucid, but it is not considered wholesome either for drinking or bathing, nor suita- 
ble for domestic purposes. When at rest, it reflects, in the same manner as the 
deep sea, the azure of a generally bright sky ; but when the surface is ruffled by a 
breeze, it has the peculiarity of assuming a green color, of that tint which the com- 
mon people designate, very appropriately, as verde de perico (parrot green), and 
exhaling a sulphurous odor, not slight, but powerful and sufficiently disagreeable, 
becoming more intense as the wind increases in strength. When the upper stra- 
tum of the water is thus moved, fish, pepescos, and raoharras are taken in great 
quantities ; at other times, when the lake is still, scarcely any can be caught. This 
fishery is a source of profit to the people of the neighboring towns, who are pro- 
prietors of different portions of the shores, the exclusive possession of which is 
secured to them by immemorial custom. The fish is of indifferent quality, yet 
much esteemed and praised by the inhabitants of San Salvador, because it is al- 
most the only aliment of the kind they are acquainted with ; for, although the city 
is no more than seven leagues from the ocean, sea-fish is very rarely brought to 
it." — Baily. 






M ' .kf..,^w;i / 



" ■ ,.-^^w'^ 










Q 

< 



Chap. XV.] sea-ports. 303 

pregnated with saline substances to a degi'ee to be un- 
fit for use. 

The principal ports of San Salvador are La Union, 
on the Bay of Fonseca, La Libertad, and Acajutla. 
The last two, however, are unprotected, and can only 
be regarded as roadsteads. They derive their import- 
ance from then' proximity to the respective cities of 
San Salvador and Sonsonate. It sometimes happens 
that vessels are obliged to lie off the port of Acajutla 
for many days without being able to communicate with 
the shore ; indeed, landing is at all times difficult, and 
fi:*equently dangerous. It is, nevertheless, the port 
which was designated as the stopping-place of the gal- 
leons mider the crown, and has still the extensive ho- 
degas or warehouses which were then erected. Efforts 
are now making to direct trade to the newly-established 
port of Concordia, by opening roads to connect it with 
the considerable town of San Vicente.* La Union, 
however, although situated at one extremity of tlie state, 
must continue to be its principal port, and must increase 
in importance with the development of the resources 
of the Bay of Fonseca. Although constituted a port 
at a comparatively recent period, it now receives the 
principal part of the imports of the state. Its situa- 
tion, under the lee of the volcano of Conchagua, which 
shuts it off from the benefit of the sea-breezes, is unfa- 

* This port is situated on the Pacific, about midway between the well-known 
ports of La Union and La Libertad, seven leagues from Sacatecoluca, ten from Sein 
Vicente, and fifteen from the city of San Salvador. Bodegas, or store-houses, have 
been erected, a commandant appointed, and pilots qualified for the port. As an 
inducement to the opening of commerce at this point, the government has issued a 
decree to the effect that the first vessel which enters the port will be required to 
pay but one third of the regular duties and charges on vessel and cargo ; the sec- 
ond but one half; the third but two thirds ; the fourth but three fourths. The port 
may be entered without difficulty by vessels drawing twelve or thirteen feet. The 
date of the decree creating the port is August, 1853. 



304 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

vorable to general health, and gives it a temperature 
higher than that of any other point on the entire bay. 
This circumstance has led to the discussion of the ques- 
tion of its removal to a point nearer to the entrance of 
the bay called Chiquirin, where the sea-breezes reach, 
and where the depth of water is such as to enable the 
largest vessels to lie close in shore. Until this change 
shall be effected, the tendency of things will be to 'con- 
centrate commerce at the free port of Amapala, on the 
island of Tigre. The population of La Union may be 
estimated at about two thousand, irrespective of the in- 
habitants of the dependent Indian pueblo of Conchagua, 
situated about a league distant, on the flank of the vol- 
cano of the same name. 

San Salvador, from its conformation of surface and 
the nature of its soil, is essentially an agricultural state. 
The basin of the River San Miguel, that of Sonsonate, 
and the valley proj)er of the Lempa, not less than the 
alluvions bordering on the Pacific, are of extraordinary 
fertility, and eminently adapted for the production of 
tropical staples. Around the Bay of Jiquilisco and 
the port of La Libertad, cotton has been cultivated with 
success ; but up to this time, the principal products of 
the state have been, in the order of their importance, 
indigo, sugar, and maize. Indigo constitutes the chief 
article in the exports of the state, and enters most large- 
ly into its resources as an article of trade. The pro- 
duction, however, in consequence of the falling off in 
price since 1830, has materially diminished. At one 
time it amounted in quantity to not less than twelve 
thousand ceroons of one hundred and fifty pounds net 
each, and in value to not far from $3,000,000. As 
has been observed by Mr. Baily, some idea of the ex- 
tent of ground which must have been covered Avith the 



Chap. XV.] the indigo crop. 305 

plant may be formed from the fact that it takes, on the 
average, three hundred pounds of the plant to produce 
one pound of indigo. It is produced from an indigen- 
ous triennial plant, known by the Indian name of Ji- 
quilite {Indigofera Disperma). This plant flourishes 
luxuriantly on nearly all kinds of soil. The land re- 
quires comparatively little preparation, being merely 
burned over and slightly plowed. The seed is then 
scattered broadcast. This is done in the months of 
February and April ; and the growth of the plant is 
so rapid, that by the first of August it has attained a 
height of from five to six feet, and is fit for cutting. 
"On land freshly sown," says Baily, "the product of 
the first year is but moderate ; the quality, however, 
is good. The strength of the crop is in the second 
year. The product of the first year is called tinta nu- 
eva ; that of the second, tinta retoho. Experienced cul- 
tivators manage to have a portion of each description 
in each season. After the cutting, the stems and roots 
remain without signs of vegetation until the early part 
of the following year, when they shoot out again. The 
retono, as being the most advanced, is first ready for 
cutting, as the tinta nueva seldom reaches the proper 
state before September. The manufacture of the in- 
digo is then carried on daily until the whole croj) is 
got in, and by the end of October or the beginning of 
November the produce is fit for market." 

The manufacture of the indigo requires no very dif- 
ficult nor expensive processes ; but it must be cut 
promptly at the proper period, or else it becomes worth- 
less. It is then necessary for the proprietors of estates 
' to have a large and reliable supply of labor. The dif- 
ficulty of obtaining this at such times, during political 

disturbances, when laborers seclude themselves as much 

U 



306 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XY. 

as possible to escape conscription, lias been one of the 
principal causes of the falling off of the production of 
this commodity. It is not easy to calculate the present 
product of indigo in the state ; but as it constitutes 
about the only reliance of the merchants in paying for 
their imports, it can not fall much short of $1,000,000 
in value. 

Sugar is widely produced in San Salvador, from pet- 
ty trapeclies or mills Avhich are scattered all over the 
state. The largest quantities are manufactured in the 
vicinity of the town of Santa Anna. It is of excellent 
quality, the crystals being remarkably large and hard.* 

Cacao was anciently produced in the neighborhood 
of Sonsonate and San Vicente in great abundance, but 
its cultivation is now insignificant. " Coffee," observes 
Mr. Baily, "is another article which might become of 
great agricultural importance in San Salvador. There 
are many localities favorable to its growth about Ahua- 
chapam, Santa Anna, San Salvador, Sonsonate, and 
San Vicente. In the first three places it grows kindly, 
and there are some thriving plantations that yield fruit 
of good quality ; but the home consumption being small 
as yet, though gradually increasing, they are not look- 
ed to as a source of much profit. 

Tobacco of good quality, but only in amounts neces- 
sary for home consumption, is produced in various parts 
of the state. That grown in the neighborhood of the 
towns of Tepetitan and Istepec is most valued. 

The geological conditions of San Salvador, as may 

* " Sugar and raspadura (candy) have much increased in production, and the 
distilling of rum to an extraordinary extent, in the neighborhood of Sonsonate, by 
the opening of the California market. Vessels now find at Acajutla an ample sup- 
ply of these articles, ready packed for mule carriage : the rum in small fourteen 
and fifteen gallon casks, and gray-beards of from three to six gallons, suitable for 
easy transport at the diggings or to places in the gold regions." — Baily's Central 
America, p. 89. 



Chap. XV.] gold and silver mines. 



307 



be inferred from the physical facts already presented, 
preclude the existence of the precious metals, except in 
those portions of the state directly dependent on the 
primitive range of the Cordilleras, or, rather, on the 
mountain system of Honduras. The silver mines of 
Tabanco, Sociedad, and others, in their immediate vi- 
cinity, lying in the northeastern part of the state, in 
the Department of San Miguel, on the confines of Hon- 
duras, have nevertheless a wide celebrity. They have 
been extensively worked, with very profitable results. 
Two leagues from Tabanco are the gold mines of Cape- 
tillas, of great richness. The group of silver mines 
known under the general name of ' ' Minas de Tabanco, '' 
hold the silver in combination with galena and sulphu- 
ret of zinc. They are easily worked, and yield from 
forty-seven to two thousand five hundred and thirty- 
seven ounces to the ton. The particular mine called 
Santa Rosalia is richest, and gives the maximum yield 
here stated. A considerable part of its ores are ship- 
ped direct to England. An attempt was made about 
the year 1830 to work these mines on a large scale by 
an English company, which sent out a large corps of 
Cornish miners for the purpose. The machinery sent 
out at the same ftme was nevertheless so heavy that 
it was found impossible to transport it from the coast, 
which difficulty, in conjunction with others, entirely 
broke uip the enterprise. Nevertheless, with the con- 
struction of proper roads, whereby modern improve- 
ments in mining-with the requisite machinery could be 
introduced, there is no doubt that these mines could be 
made of great value, both to their owners and to the 
state. Their proximity to the Bay of Fonseca is fa- 
vorable to their complete development.* 

* " Five leagues north of San Miguel are a number of mines of silver. Among 



308 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

"Near the village of Petapa," says Dunlop, "nine 
leagues from Santa Anna, are some rich mines of iron, 
which produce a purer and more malleable metal than 
any imported from Europe. The ore is found near 
the surface, and is very abundant ; and there are ex- 
tensive forests in the immediate vicinity, which serve 
for making charcoal." But the amount of iron manu- 
factured is not equal to the consumption of the state, 
not exceeding seven hundred tons per annum. It is 
worth about $10 the 100 lbs., or $200 per ton ! Were 
these mines worked properly, the enterprise could not 
fail to be a profitable one to all employed. Mr. Baily 
assures us that some of this iron, sent to England a 
few years ago for the purpose of examination, proved 
to be a " very valuable variety for conversion into fine 
steel, approaching in this respect very nearly to the 
celebrated tuootz of India." 

Among the many undeveloped resources of San Sal- 
vador, and one which may perhaps come to have a first 
value in the state, is its coal, of which there is reason 
for believing vast beds exist throughout the valley of 
the Rio Lempa, and in the valleys of some of its prin- 
cipal tributaries, over a region of country one hundred 
miles long by not far from tAventy miles broad. Coal 
had long been reported to exist in the state, previously 
to my visit in 1853. The investigations which were 

them is one called La Carolina, which was worked by a Spanish empresario about 
thirty years ago. He invested his own property, borrowed $100,000, and, after 
getting his mine in order, in less than six months was able to pay his obligations, 
and, although he died before the end of the year, he left $70,000 in gold and silver, 
the produce of the mine. After his death the ownership was disputed, the works 
fell into ruins, and the mine became filled with water, in which condition it remains. 
The mines of Tabanco were more celebrated than those in this vicinity, and when 
worked, yielded upward of $1,000,000 annually (1), although worked in a rude man- 
ner without machinery. The principal one once yielded $200,000 annually to the 
proprietors." — Dunlop's Travels in Centi'al America, p. 277. 



^V'^ 







< 
> 







U, r 



Chap. XV.] coal mines. 309 

then made, under my directions, may, however, be re- 
garded as having put the question at rest. Coal was 
found at a number of places in the valley of the Rio 
Titiguapa, flowing into the Lempa from the west, of 
good quality, proper geological conditions, and with 
every indication of abundance. This river, it may be 
observed, is navigable for seven months in the year. 
The coal occurs about two leagues above its junction 
with the Lempa ; also in the valley of the Rio Torola, 
about three leagues from its junction with the Lempa, 
of good quality, apparently abundant, and having all 
the geological conditions perfect. Near the town of 
Ilobasco, close to the Rio Lempa, it is reported to ex- 
ist in large beds, and to have been used for many years 
by the village smiths. 

The coal of San Salvador is all of the variety call- 
ed hroivn coal, and is a later formation than what is 
known as i^^'if coal. In Germany it is found in vast 
deposits in Croatia, Moravia, Bohemia, Tj^i^ol, Saxony, 
Silesia, etc., and it is Avorthy of remark, that all the 
coal which has been found south of the Mississippi 
Valley, in Mexico, Central America, New Granada, 
Chili, etc., appears to be of this variety. In the county 
of Mansfeldt, in Germany, the brown coal is used for 
toughening copper, and for melting the white metal 
for the blue metal in reverberating furnaces. All the 
steam-engines in the above-named German coal districts 
are fed with this coal. It can be used for refining lead 
and silver, for the calcination of ores, and generally 
for all the operations performed in reverberatory fur- 
naces. Trials which have hitherto been made to coke 
it, for use in blast furnaces, have not been successful. 
I am not aware that its use has ever been attempted 
for locomotives and steam-ships. This is not remark- 



310 REPUBLIC OP SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

able, as it has hitherto been found where no opportu- 
nity has existed of submitting it to this kind of trial. 
That found in the valley of the Rio Titiguapa, already 
alluded to, has a specific gravity of 1.57; ashes 10.5 
per cent.* It is of that peculiar kind of brown coal 
called j9zYcA coal^ and is rich in bitumen. 

That part of the coast of San Salvador extending 
from Acajutla to La Libertad is termed "Costa del 
Balsimo," from the circumstance of producing what is 
known in the materia medica as "balsam of Peru." 
Lying to the seaward of the volcanic coast-range of 
mountains which I have described, the whole tract is 
much broken by the spurs and ranges of hills which 
the latter sends down toward the sea, and so thickly 
covered with forests that it is difficult, if not impossi- 
ble, to penetrate it on horseback. It is exclusively oc- 
cupied by Indians, Avho, as it will appear farther on, 
are little altered from their primitive condition. They 
support themselves by the produce of the balsam-trees, 
and by hewing out cedar planks and scantling, which 
they carry on their shoulders to Sonsonate and San 
Salvador. Their chief wealth, however, is the balsam, 
of which they collect annually about twenty thousand 
pounds, which is sold to dealers in the cities at an av- 
erage price of half a dollar per pound. "The trees 
yielding this commodity, " according to Baily, "are very 
numerous on the privileged spot, and apparently lim- 
ited to it ; for on other parts of the coast, seeming!}' 
identical in climate, rarely an individual of the species 
is to be met with. The balsam is obtained by making 
an incision in the tree, whence it gradually exudes, 

* This result compares favorably with that of the analysis of the best varieties 
of American bituminous coals. The Virginia bituminous coal leaves 10.7 per 
cent, of ashes ; the Pennsylvania free-burning coal 13.3 per cent. ; the Maryland 
bituminous (Cumberland), 10 per cent. 



Chap. XV.] volcanoes. 311 

and is absorbed by pieces of cotton rag inserted for the 
purpose. These, when thoroughly saturated, are re- 
placed by others, which, as they are removed, are thrown 
into boiling water. The heat detaches the balsam from 
the cotton, and, being of less specific gravity than the 
water, it floats on the top, is skimmed off, and put in 
calabashes for sale. The wood of the tree is of close 
grain, handsomely veined, nearly of a mahogany color, 
but redder. It retains for a long; time an aoreeable, 
fragrant odor, and takes a fine polish. It would be 
excellent for cabinet-work, but can seldom be obtained, 
as the trees are never felled until by age or accidental 
decay their precious sap becomes exhausted. This bal- 
sam was long erroneously supposed to be a production 
of South America ; for in the early periods of the Span- 
ish dominion, and by the commercial regulations then 
existing relative to the fruits of this coast, it was usu- 
ally sent by the merchants here to Callao, and, being 
thence transmitted to Spain, it there received the name 
of ' balsam of Peru, ** being deemed indigenous to that 
country. The real place of its origin was known only 
to a few mercantile men." 

As I have said, the volcanic features of San Salva- 
dor are both numerous and striking. Only two of the 
eleven oreat volcanoes of the state are what are called 
"vivo," alive or active, viz., San Miguel and Izalco. 
The first-named rises sheer from the plain to the height 
of six thousand feet, in the form of a regular truncated 
cone. It emits constant^ great volumes of smoke from 
its summit, but its eruptions have been confined, since 
the historical period, to the opening of great fissures in 
its sides, from which have flowed currents of lava., reach- 
ing, in some instances, for a number of miles. The last 
eruption of this kind occurred in 1848, but it resulted 



in no serious damage. 



312 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

It is difficult to conceive a grander natural object 
than this volcano. Its base is shrouded in densest 
green, blending with the lighter hues of the grasses 
which succeed the forest. Above these the various 
colors melt imperceptibly into each other. First comes 
the rich umber of the scorise, and then the silver tint 
of the newly-fallen ashes at the summit ; and still 
above all, floating in heavy opalescent volumes, or ris- 
ing like a plume to heaven, is the smoke, which rolls 
up eternally from its incandescent depths. 

The volcano of Izalco may, however, be regarded as 
the most interesting volcanic feature of the state. This 
volcano and that of Jorullo, in Mexico, described by 
Humboldt, are, I believe, the only ones which have 
originated on this continent since the discovery. It 
arose from the plain, near the great mass of the extinct 
volcano of Santa Anna, in 1770, and covers what was 
then a fine cattle hacienda or estate. About the close 
of 1769 the dwellers on this estate were alarmed by 
subterranean noises and shocks of earthquakes, which 
continued to increase in loudness and strength until 
the twenty-third of February following, when the earth 
opened about half ^ a mile from the dwellings on the 
estate, sending out lava, accompanied by fire and 
smoke. The inhabitants fled, but the vaqueros or 
herdsmen, who visited the estate daily, reported a con- 
stant increase in the smoke and flame, and that the 
ejection of lava was at times suspended, and vast quan- 
tities of ashes, cinders, and stones sent out instead, 
forming an increasing cone around the vent or crater. 
This process was repeated for a long period, but for 
many years the volcano has throAvn out no lava. It 
has, however, remained in a state of constant eruption, 
and received, in consequence, the designation of "El 



\' 











< 






Chap. XV.] volcanoes. 31 o 

Faro del Salvador, " the Light-house of Salvador. Its 
exj^losions occur with great regularity, at intervals of 
from ten to twenty minutes, with a noise like the dis- 
charge of a park of artillery, accompanied with a 
dense smoke, and a cloud of ashes and stones, which 
fall upon every side, and add to the height of the cone, 
which is now about twenty-five hundred feet in alti- 
tude. 

The volcanoes of San Vicente and Tecaj^a have sev- 
eral orifices or vents, emitting smoke, steam, and sul- 
phurous vapors, which are called "/^z/ermYZos," literal- 
ly, "Little Hells." In a word, it maybe said, with 
truth, that San Salvador comprehends more volcanoes, 
and has within its limits more marked results of vol- 
canic action, than probably any other equal extent of 
the earth. For days the traveler Avithin its borders 
journeys over unbroken beds of lava, scoriae, and vol- 
canic sand, constituting, contrary to what most people 
would suppose, -a soil of unbounded fertility, and 
densely covered with vegetation. 

There are also many extinct craters, which are now 
generally filled with water, constituting lakes without 
outlets, and of which the water is brackish. One of 
these, called "Joya," occurs about four miles to the 
southwest of the city of San Salvador. 

Near the toA^ai of Ahuachapan, in the extreme west- 
ern part of the state, are some remarkable thermal or 
hot springs, called ausoles, "emitting a dense Avhite 
steam from a semi-fluid mass of mud and water in a 
state of ebullition, continually throwing large, heavy 
bubbles to the surface." These ausoles are described 
by Montgomery in liis Narrative as follows : 

" Of these lakes or ponds there are several, and tliey occupy 
a considerable tract of land. The largest is about a hundred 



314 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR, [ChAP. XY. 

yards in circumference. In this, as in all the others, the water, 
which Avas extremely turbid, and of a light brown color, was 
boiling furiously, and rising in bubbles three or four feet high. 
The steam ascended in a dense white cloud, and spread for a 
considerable distance round, as I stood for some time on the 
bank of this natural caldron, gazing with awe upon its tremen- 
dous vortex. The heat was so great on the surface of the 
ground near the borders of the lakes that, had our feet not been 
protected with thick shoes, it could not have been endured. On 
thrusting a knife into the ground, the blade, when drawn out aft- 
er a few seconds, was so hot as to burn the fingers. Our horses, 
which, according to the custom of the country, were not shod, 
exhibited such symptoms of uneasiness, owing to the state of 'the 
ground beneath them, or in consequence of the strong smell of 
the steam, that it was found necessary to leave them tied some 
distance from the scene. In some places a little column of 
smoke issued fiercely from a hole in the ground, while in others, 
the water, in a boiling state, gushed out like a fountain. The 
ebullitions of these lakes or springs have formed on the borders 
of them a deposit of the finest clay, and of every variety of col- 
ors ; but it does not appear that the natives have profited by 
the facility thus afforded them for the manufacture of pottery ; 
and although nothing would be more easy than to establish 
there the finest mineral baths in the world, this object has never 
occupied their attention." 

But, notwithstanding its numerous volcanic features, 
San Salvador has suffered less from earthquakes than 
either Costa Rica or Guatemala. The greatest catas- 
trophe that has befallen the state from this cause oc- 
curred last year (April, 1854), when the capital of the 
state was utterly destroyed by a violent earthquake. 
Previous to this event, the city of San Salvador, in 
point of size and importance, ranked third in Central 
America ; Guatemala, in the state of the same name, 
]-)eing first, and Leon, in Nicaragua, second. It was 
founded in 1528 by George Alvarado, brother of the 



Chap. XY.] the capital city. 315 

renowned Pedro Alvarado, the next in command to 
Cortez in his conquest of Mexico, and afterward the 
conqueror and governor of Guatemahi. Its founda- 
tions were first laid at a place now called Bermuda, 
about six leagues to the northward of the present site. 
In 1539 it was removed to the place which it occupied 
until the period of the recent catastrophe. Its name 
was given to it by Alvarado in commemoration of his 
final decisive victory over the Indians of Cuscatlan, 
which was gained on the eve of the festival of San Sal- 
vador. 

During the dominion of Spain in America the citv 
was the seat of the governor intendente of the prov- 
ince of San Salvador, dej^endent on the captain-gener- 
alcy of Guatemala. After the independence it became 
the capital of the state, and was early distinguished for 
its thorough devotion to the principles of the liberal 
party in Central America. 

After the confederation of the states it was selected 
as the capital of the new republic, and a district was 
laid off a'round it, called the Federal District, after the 
example of the United States in erecting the District 
of Columbia. It continued to be the seat of the fed- 
eral government until the dissolution of the republic 
in 1839. 

I spent the month of August, 1853, in the city of 
San Salvador, and was much impressed with the great 
beauty of the town, and the general intelligence, indus- 
try, and enterprise of its inhabitants, who surpass, in 
these respects, the people of any of tlie other large 
towns of Central America. The position of the town 
was remarkably beautiful ; in the midst of a broad, 
elevated plain, on the summit of the high table-land or 
coast-ran 2:e of mountains which intervenes betAveen the 



316 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

valley of the River Lempa and the Pacific. Its eleva- 
tion, by barometrical admeasurement, is two thousand 
one hundred and fifteen feet above the sea. As a con- 
sequence, its climate is cool as compared with that of 
the coast alluvions, although unfavorably modified in 
this respect by a low range of hills on the southern 
border of the plain, which shuts off the sea-breeze. 
Were it not for this obstacle, the breezes of the ocean, 
which is only twenty miles distant, would reach the 
city. During the month of August, 1853, the maxi- 
mum of temperature was 81° of Fahr., the minimmn 
70°, and the mean average 76° 3', which constitutes a 
delicious climate. 

* The hills around the plain of San Salvador are cov- 
ered with verdure, which, as the dews are considerable, 
keeps green throughout the dry as well as the rainy 
season. About three miles to the westward of the city 
is the great volcano of San Salvador. The cone, which 
rises on the northern border or edge of the crater, is 
(approximately) eight thousand feet in height. The 
volcano proper, however, is a vast mass, with a broad 
base of irregular outline, its summit serrated by the 
jagged edges of the crater, and is much less in altitude 
than the cone. This cone seems to have been formed 
by ashes and scoriae thrown out of the crater, which is 
represented as a league and a half in circumference, 
and a thousand varas, or nearly three thousand feet, 
deep. At the bottom of this crater is a considerable 
lake of water. Very few persons have had the temer- 
ity to venture into the chasm of the volcano, and none 
of these are likely, judging from the accounts which 
they give of their efforts, to repeat the undertaking. 
Two Frenchmen, who ventured down a year or Uvo 
since, became exhausted and ijicapable of returning. 



Chap. XV.] position of the capital. 317 

They were rescued with great diificulty by a detach- 
ment of soldiers from the garrison. 

San Salvador stands, or rather stood — for its de- 
struction has been so complete as to justify the use of 
the past tense — upon a table-land wholly made up of 
scoria, volcanic ashes, sand, and fragments of pumice, 
overlying, to the depth of hundreds of feet, the beds of 
lava which had flowed from the volcano before their 
ejection. Those who have seen the scoriaceous beds 
which cover Pompeii can form an accurate idea of the 
soil on which San Salvador was built. 

The channels of the streams are worn down to a great 
depth through this light and 3delding material, and con- 
stitute immense ravines, which render the approaches 
to the town almost mipassable, except at the places 
where gTaded passages are cut down on either side, 
paved with stone, and sometimes walled, to keep them 
from washino; out and becomino; useless. Some of these 
approaches are so narrow that it is customary, when 
mounted, to shout loudly on entering, so as to avoid 
encountering horsemen in the passages, which are fre- 
quently so restricted as to preclude either passing or 
turning back. San Salvador has more than once owed 
its safety, in time of war, to these natural fortifications, 
which confounded the enemy with their intricacies and 
difficulties, while affording means of defense to the in- 
habitants. 

The facility with which the soil above described 
washes away has been the cause of several disasters to 
San Salvador. During a heavy rain of several days' 
duration, called a " Temjwral.,'' which occurred in 1852, 
not only were all the bridges which crossed a small 
stream flowino- throu2:h one of the suburbs of the town 
undermined and ruined,, but many houses destroyed in 



318 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

the same manner. One of the principal streets, ex- 
tending into the suburbs, began to wash at its lower 
extremity, and the excavation went on so rapidly that 
no effort could arrest it. A considerable part of the 
street became converted into a huge ravine, into which 
the houses and gardens on either side were precipitated. 
The extension of the damage was guarded against, 
when the rains ceased, by the construction of heavy 
walls of masonry, like the faces of a fortification. How 
serious an undertaking this was regarded may be in- 
ferred from the fact that its completion was deemed of 
sufficient importance to be announced in the annual 
message of the President. 

San Salvador, like all other Spanish towns, covered 
a large area in proportion to its population. The 
houses were built low, none being of more than one 
story, with very thick walls, designed to resist the 
shocks of earthquakes. Each was built around an in- 
ner court, planted with trees and flowers, and frequent- 
ly containing a fountain. To the circumstance of the 
existence of these courts the people of San Salvador 
owe their general preservation in the late catastrophe, 
as will be seen from the accounts below given. They 
afforded ready and secure places of refuge from the fall- 
ing dwellings. 

The population of San Salvador was estimated in 
1852 at twenty-five thousand. Including the little 
towns in its environs, and which were practically a 
part of it, such as Soyopango, San Marcos, Mexicanos, 
etc., its inhabitants might have been estimated at thirty 
thousand. It was the seat of a bishopric,- with a large 
and beautiful cathedral church, and of a large and flour- 
ishing university, the buildings for which were only fin- 
ished about a year ago. It had also a female semina- 



Chap. XV.] a sylvan metropolis. 319 

ry, several hospitals, and numbered some eight or ten 
churches. In 1852, a very large and beautiful ceme- 
tery, with a fine fagade and dependent chapels, was con- 
structed. Two aqueducts, one of which is five miles in 
length, supplied the city with water. It was also a 
place of considerable and improving trade. Under the 
auspices of the late president, Duenas, a cart-road was 
surveyed, and carried nearly, if not quite, to a success- 
ful conclusion, from the city to its port on the Pacific, 
called La Libertad, a distance of about twenty-two 
miles. This, in a country where the best roads are 
hardly equal to what we would here call cattle-paths, 
was certainly no inconsiderable advance. 

The market of San Salvador was well supplied from 
the numerous Indian villages around it. On feast-days, 
and on the occasions of the fairs, such as that fallinsr on 
the anniversary of the victory of Alvarado, the town 
overflowed, not only with people gathered from within 
a radius of :fifty leagues, but with foreigners and mer- 
chants from every part of Central America. At these 
fairs the accounts between dealers were adjusted, and 
contracts, sales, and purchases made for the ensuing 
year ; the whole concurrence and bustle contrasting 
strangely with the usual monotony and quiet. 

With the exception of the central and paved part of 
the city, San Salvador was eminently sylvan*, being lit- 
erally embowered in tropical fruit-trees. The red-roof- 
ed dwellings, closely shut in with evergi'een hedges of 
cactus, shadowed over by palm and orange-trees, with 
a dense background of broad-leaved plantains, almost 
sinking beneath their heav}'- clusters of golden fruity 
were singularly picturesque and beautiful. In recall- 
ing the picture, it is sad to think that all is now aban- 
doned and desolate ; that the great square is deserted, 



320 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

and that a silence, unbroken even by tlie fall of water 
from the lately glittering fountains, reigns over the ru- 
ined and deserted, but once busy and beautiful city of 
"Our Saviour!" 

It will be seen from the following account of the 
catastrophe of A23ril 16th, that the work of devastation 
was accomplished in the brief space of ten seconds. 
Fortunately, a premonitory shock had induced the wary 
inhabitants to abandon their houses, and seek safety in 
the public squares and in the court-yards of their 
dwellings. Had it not been for this, the loss of life 
would, of necessity, have been very great. 

San Salvador has suffered greatly in past times from 
earthquakes. Severe ones are recorded as having oc- 
curred in the years 1575, 1593, 1625, 1656, and 1798. 
Another, which occurred in 1839, shattered the city, 
and led the people to think of abandoning it. The 
volcano has also several times thrown out sand, and 
threatened general devastation. 

But none of the earthquakes alluded to were com- 
parable in violence with that now recorded. It will 
be seen that the event has inspired so profound a terror, 
that the people do not jDropose to return again to the 
same site, but to select a new locality for their capital. 
In this they follow the example of the people of Gua- 
temala, which city was originally built at a place nov^- 
caUed the Antigua, or Old City. In 1773 an earth- 
quake occurred of such power as nearly to ruin the 
town, which was removed in consequence. It may be 
doubted if the earthquake of that year was as violent 
as that which ruined San Salvador, and which in that 
respect may be compared with that which destroyed 
Caraccas in 1812, and in which ten thousand lives were 
lost. The earthquake of Caraccas consisted of three 



Chap. XY.] the earthquake. 321 

terrific shocks, each one lasting but two or three sec- 
onds. The shocks which destroyed San Salvador did 
not collectively extend over ten seconds. 

The sul^joiiied account of the destruction of the city 
is from the ^''Boletin Extraordinario del Gohierno del 
Salvador'" of May 2d, 1854, and may be recorded as 
authentic : 

" Tlie night of the 16th of April, 1854, -mU ever be one of sad 
and bitter memory for the people of Salvador. On that unfor- 
tunate night, our happy and beautiful capital was made a heap 
of ruins. Movements of the earth were felt on the mornincr of 
Holy Thursday, preceded by sounds hke the roUing of heavy 
artillery over pavements, and like distant thunder. The people 
were a httle alarmed in consequence of this phenomenon, but it 
did not prevent them from meeting in the churches to celebrate 
the solemnities of the day. On Saturday all was quiet, and con- 
fidence was restored. The people of the neighborhood assem- 
bled as usual to celebrate the Passover. The night of Saturday 
was ti-anquil, as was also the whole of Sunday. The heat, it is 
true, was considerable, but the atmosphere was calm and serene. 
For the first three hours of the evening notliing unusual occur- 
red, but at half past nine a severe shock of an earthquake, oc- 
curring without the usual prehminary noises, alarmed the whole 
city. Many families left their houses and made encampments 
in the public squares, while others prepared to pass the night in 
their respective court-yards. 

" Finally, at ten minutes to eleven, without premonition of 
any kind, the earth began to heave and tremble Avith such fear- 
ful force that in ten seconds the entire city was prostrated. The 
crashing of houses and churches stunned the ears of the terrified 
inhabitants, while a cloud of dust from the falling ruins envel- 
oped them in a pall of impenetrable darkness. Not a drop of 
water could be got to relieve the half-choked and suffocating, for 
the wells and fountains were filled up or made dry. The clock 
tower of the catliedral earned a great part of that edifice with it 
in its fall. The towers of the churcli of San Francisco crushed 
the episcopal oratory and part of the palace. The cliurch of 



322 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

Santo Domingo was Iburied beneath its towers, and tlie college 
of the Assumption was entirely ruined. The new and beautiful 
edifice of the University was demolished. Tlie church of the 
Merced separated in the centre, and its walls fell outward to the 
ground. Of the private houses a few were left standing, but all 
were rendered uninhabitable. It is worthy of remark that the 
walls left standing are old ones ; all those of modern construc- 
tion have fallen. The public edifices of the government and 
city shared the common destruction. 

" The devastation was effected, as we have said, in the first 
ten seconds ; for, although the succeeding shocks were tremen- 
dous, and accompanied by fearful rumblings beneath our feet, 
they had comparatively trifling results, for the reason that the 
first had left but little for their ravages. 

" Solemn and terrible was the picture presented on the dark, 
fiinereal night, of a whole people clustering in the plazas, and on 
their knees crying with loud voices to Heaven for mercy, or in. 
agonizing accents calling for their children and friends, which 
they believed to be buried beneath the ruins ! A heaven opaque 
and ominous ; a movement of the earth rapid and unequal, caus- 
ing a terror indescribable ; an intense sulphurous odor filling the 
atmosphere, and indicating an approaching eruption of the vol- 
cano ; streets filled with ruins, or overhung by threatening walls ; 
a suffocating cloud of dust, almost rendering respiration impos- 
sible — such was the spectacle presented by the unhappy city 
on that memorable and awful night ! 

"A hundred boys were shut up in the college, many invalids 
crowded the hospitals, and the barracks were fall of soldiers. 
The sense of the catastrophe which must liave befallen them 
gave poignancy to the first moments of reflection after the earth- 
quake was over. It was believed that at least a fourth part of 
the inhabitants had been buried beneath the ruins. The mem- 
bers of the government, however, hastened to ascertain, as far as 
practicable, the extent of the catastrophe, and to quiet the pub- 
lic mind. It was found that the loss of life had been much less 
than was supposed, and it now appears probable that the num- 
ber of the killed will not exceed one hundred, and of wounded 
fifty. Among the latter is the bishop, who received a severe 



Chap. XA'.] revenues. 323 

blow on the head ; the late president, Senor Duenas ; a daugh- 
ter of the president, and the wife of the secretary of the Legis- 
lative Chambers, the latter severely. 

" Fortunately, the earthquake has not been followed by rains, 
which gives an opportunity to disinter the public archives, as 
also many of the valuables contained in the dwellings of the 
citizens. 

"The movements of the earth still continue, mtli strong 
shocks, and the people, fearing a general swallowing up of the 
site of the city, or that it may be buried under some sudden 
eruption of the volcano, are hastening away, taking with them 
their household gods, the sweet memories of their infancy, and 
their domestic animals, perhaps the only property left for the 
support of their families, exclaiming with Virgil, '■ Wos jpatrice 
fines et dulcia linqui7nus arva.'' " 

The revenues of San Salvador are derived from du- 
ties on imports, and the proceeds of the government 
monopolies of tobacco and aguardiente (rum). The 
receipts of the state from all sources, and its expendi- 
tures, for five 3^ears, are reported by the treasury as fol- 
lows, the fiscal year commencing October 1st, and ter- 
minating September 30th : 

Years. Receipts. Expenditures. 

1848-49 $397,405 $384,227 

1849-50 353,127 342,453 

1850-51 . 402,619 385,836 

1851-52 454,113 415,207 

1853-54 600,188 579,460 

For the fiscal year 1851-52, $205,191 were derived 
from duties on importations, $110,592 from the mo- 
nopoly of aguardiente, and $10, 290 from that of to- 
bacco. The expenditures on account of the army for 
t^Q same year were $09,000; public debt, $185,747; 
and civil and general list, $160,360. For the fiscal 
year 1853-54, the payments on account of the domestic 
debt were $312,901. 



324 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

The interior debt of the state on the first day of Jan- 
nary, 1853, including bonds in circulation, was about 
|350, 000. On the first of October, 1852, according to 
the statement of the treasurer, the amount of '■''honos y 
vales,'''' bonds and treasury notes in circulation, was 
$213,938. During the fiscal year $141,243 had been 
issued, and $185,747 redeemed. 

The ' ' bonos" are classified, and received at fixed val- 
uations, and in certain ^proportions, in payment of du- 
ties and other obligations to the state. Their valua- 
tion is wholly arbitrary, and is determined by legisla- 
tive enactment, ranging from ten to eighty per cent, 
on their face. They have mostly, if not entirely, orig- 
inated in the political disturbances of the country, 
having been issued on account of the forced loans from 
proprietors, or in the way of compensation for prop- 
erty taken for public purposes, and probably do not 
represent more than one third of the original value on 
account of which they were issued. 

The foreign debt of the state on the first day of Jan- 
uary, 1853, amounted to not far from $325,000, of 
which the greater part was the proportion of the debt 
of the old federation assumed by San Salvador. This 
has been augmented by various claims, made mostly, 
if not exclusively, by British subjects, and which, in 
the aggregate, have amounted to about $100,000. 
The interest on the old debt has not, I believe, been 
paid, and its accumulation since 1848 is probably 
chargeable upon the state. The report of the treas- 
urer for 1852 puts down $18,205 as paid on account 
of debts due to individual foreigners. For 1851 the 
amount of this item was $5800; for 1850, $20,200. 

The exports of San Salvador for the year 1851 
were 7000 bales of indigo, valued at $700,000. The 



Chap. XV.] friendship for the united states. 325 

exports of ores, balsam, skins, rice, sugar, etc., for the 
same year, were estimated at $500, 000. Total exports, 
$1,200,000. The imj^orts for the same year were val- 
ued at $1,500,000. 

The political organization of San Salvador corre- 
sponds generally with that of Honduras, with which it 
has always closely sympathized. In 1853, under the 
temporary ascendency of a reactionary government, it 
withdrew its delegates from the Constituent Assem- 
bly, then in session in the city of Tegucigalpa, for the 
purpose of framing a Constitution for the organization 
of a Federal Republic, which should comprehend the 
three states of San Salvador, Honduras, and Nicarao-ua. 
At the same time, it declared itself a distinct and sov- 
ereign state, under the title of the "Republic of San 
Salvador." 

In 1850 I had the honor, on behalf of the United 
States, of negotiating a treaty with Don Agustin Mo- 
rales, plenipotentiary of San Salvador, which subse- 
quently received the requisite ratifications upon both 
sides, and is now in full force and effect. It secures 
to the citizens of the United States all the rights, priv- 
ileges, and immunities of citizens of San Salvador in 
commerce, navigation, mining, and in resjDcct of hold- 
ing and transferring property in that state. It guar- 
antees to American citizens resident in the country the 
fullest protection in the enjoj-ment of religious and 
civil freedom, and, in short, everj^ other right and priv- 
ilege which has been conceded in any treaty negotiated 
between the United States and any other nation on the 
globe. And here it may be mentioned, as an illustra- 
tion of the sympathy and good feeling which has al- 
ways existed among the people of San Salvador in re- 
spect to this country, that in 1823, when doubts ex- 



326 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XV. 

isted as to the possible organization of the Federal Ke- 
j)ublic of Central America, the State of San Salvador 
formally and solemnly decreed its aggregation to the 
United States. 

San Salvador, as I have said, is relatively the most 
populous of the Central American states. It has, in- 
deed, a relatively larger population than most of the 
states of the United States — nearly four times as many 
to the square mile as Maine, and more than Vermont 
or New Hampshire. Considering that it has no large 
capitals, like Mexico or Lima, within its borders, it is 
unquestionably more populous than any other equal 
portion of Spanish America. The traveler, however, 
would not be apt to receive this impression in travel- 
ing through the country, since comparativel}'' few of the 
people live outside of the numerous villages which dot 
over the state in every direction. The inhabitants of 
these towns have their little patches of ground at dis- 
tances varying from one to five miles from their resi- 
dences, and think little of traveling that distance in the 
morning to work them, returning at night. It is this 
circumstance which lends much of picturesqueness and 
life to the journeys of the traveler, Avho, as he ap- 
proaches the villages in the evening, or departs from 
them in the early morning, finds the paths thronged 
with people bearing their implements of cultivation, or 
loaded with the produce of their little huertas or cha- 
cras. 

There is little public or unclaimed land in the state, 
and few large tracts held by single individuals. This 
is a circumstance favorable to the general industry, 
which contrasts creditably with that of the other states; 
and, upon a second and more extended acquaintance- 
ship with the state and its people, I can only repeat 



ClIAP. XV.] QUALITIES OF THE PEOPLE. 327 

what I have before had occasion to say of San Salva- 
dor, that in respect of industry, general intelligence, 
and all the requisites of good order, its people are en- 
titled to rank first in Central America. There is no 
l^BTt of Spanish America where individual rights are 
better respected, or the duties of republicanism better 
understood ; and, whatever may be the future history 
of Central America, its most important part, in all that 
requires intelligence, activity, concentration, and force, 
will be performed by San Salvador. 



328 EEPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

ABORIGINAL POPULATION OF SAN SALVADOR, 

T^HE inquirer into the history and relations of the 
-^ aborigines of America is often surprised to find 
enigmatical fragments of the great primitive families 
of the continent widely separated from their j^arent 
stocks, and intruded among nations differing from them 
in manners, language, government, and religion. These 
erratic fragments — to adopt a geological term — in some 
instances present the clearest and most indubitable ev- 
idences of their origin and relationship, in an almost 
unchanged language, and in a civil and social organiza- 
tion, manners, and customs, little, if at all, modified from 
those of their distant progenitors. The inference from 
this would naturally be that then' separation had been 
comparatively recent; yet these identities have been 
found to exist in cases where tradition fails to assign 
a cause or period for the disruption, or even to indicate 
the manner in which it took place. 

At the period of the discovery of America, a colony 
or fragment of that primitive stock, which, under the 
name of Quiches, Kachiquels, Tzendales, Mayas, etc., 
occupied nearly the whole of what is now Guatemala, 
Chiapa, and Yucatan, was found established on the 
River Panuco. They bore the name of Huastecas, and 
from them had proceeded those beneficent men who 
carried the arts of civilization and the elements of a 
mild religion into those regions, where the Acolhuas 
and Aztecas, or Nahuales, afterward built up the so- 



Chap. XVI.] aboriginal population. 329 

called Mexican empire. It was one of their leaders, 
bearing the hereditary name Quetzalcoatl in the Na- 
hual dialect, and Cuculcan in the Tzendal, who taught 
the higher arts to the inhabitants of Cholula, and who 
afterward returned to the primitive seats of his fathers 
in the valley of the Usumasinta by v\^ay of the isth- 
mus of Coatzacoalcos. The period of this migration 
to the Panuco dates back beyond the foundation of the 
principalities of Anahuac, and is anterior to the Tez- 
cucan and Aztec dynasties. 

In Central America, on the other hand, two consid- 
erable fragments of the true Nahual or Aztec stock 
were found intruded among the native or original fam- 
ilies of that portion of the continent. One of these, 
as I have shown in my work on Nicaragua, occupied 
the principal islands in the Lake of Nicaragua, the 
narrow isthmus which intervenes between that lake 
and the Pacific, and probably a portion of the country 
to the southward as far as the Gulf of Nicoya. Their 
country was less than a hundred miles long by scarcely 
twenty-five broad; yet here they preserved the same 
language and institutions, and practiced the same re- 
ligious rites with the people of the same stock who 
dwelt more than two thousand miles distant, on the 
plateaus of Anahuac, from whom they were separated 
by numerous powerful nations, speaking a diiferent 
language, and having a distinct organization. 

I have elsewhere indicated the character, habits, and 
religion of the Nahuals of Nicaragua, and shown in 
what respect their language was modified, or differed 
from that spoken by the Nahuals of Mexico. =•'= I do 
not propose to go over that ground again, but to con- 

* See article on the " Archaeologj' and Ethnology of Nicaragua," part i., vol. ill. 
of Transactions of the American Ethnological Society. 



330 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

fine myself to some account of another and larger col- 
ony or fragment of the Nahual stock, which was situ- 
ated between Nicaragua and Guatemala, principally in 
what is now the State of San Salvador, where their 
descendants still remain, retaining to this day their 
original language, and many of their primitive man- 
ners and customs. 

Their existence here was affirmed by the earliest 
chronicles, but, as I have had occasion to say in treat- 
ing of the Nahuals of Nicaragua, the fact does not seem 
to have been generally accepted by modern ethnogra- 
phers. In the absence of direct j3roofs, such as might 
be derived from a comparison of their language with 
that of the Nahuals of Mexico, this is not surprising. 
The science of ethnology is now happily so far ad- 
vanced as to require a closer authentication of the facts 
upon which it proceeds than can always be derived 
from the vague and frequently obscure allusions and 
statements of the ancient chroniclers. 

The data necessary to establish the statements of the 
conquerors in the respect above indicated I was fortu- 
nate enough to obtain in my recent visit to Central 
America in the year 1853. During that visit I not 
only traveled extensively through Nicaragua and Hon- 
duras, which bound San Salvador on the south and 
north, but also traversed that state throughout its en- 
tire length and breadth, visiting in succession each of 
its departments. 

As a general rule, the aboriginal population has 
been much modified by three centuries of contact with 
the whites, and an equally long subjugation to the 
Spanish rule ; yet there are towns, even in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the capital, Avhich have retained to a 
surprising degree their primitive customs, and in which 



Chap. XVI.] inhabitants of the balsam coast. 331 

the aboriginal blood has suffered scarcely any, if in- 
deed the slightest intermixture. In most places, how- 
ever, the native Language has fallen into disuse, or only 
a few words, which have also been accepted by the 
whites, are retained. The original names of places, 
however, have been preserved here with the greatest 
tenacity, and afford a very sure guide in defining the 
extent of territory over which the various aboriginal 
nations were spread. 

In the neighborhood of Sonsonate there are several 
large towns, inhabited almost exclusively by Indians, 
who also use the national language in ordinary inter- 
course among themselves. The same is true of some 
of the towns on the southern flank of the volcano of 
San Vicente, whose inhabitants, no later than 1832, 
attempted to reassert their ancient dominion, and ex- 
terminate not only the whites, but all who had a trace 
of European blood in their veins. 

There is, nevertheless, one portion of the State of San 
Salvador where the aborigines have always maintain- 
ed an almost complete isolation, and where they still 
retain their original language, and, to a great extent, 
their ancient rites and customs. This district is known 
as the ''''Costa del , Balsimo,'" or Balsam Coast. It is 
about fifty miles in length by tAventy to twenty-five in 
breadth, lying between La Libertad, the port of the 
city of San Salvador, and the roadstead of Acajutla, 
near Sonsonate. This district is entirely occupied by 
Indians, retaining habits but little changed from what 
they were at the period of the conquest. It is only 
traversed by foot-paths so intricate and difficult as to 
baffle the efforts of the stranger to penetrate its recesses. 
The difficulty of intercourse is enhanced, if not by the 
absolute hostilitv of the Indians themselves, from their 



332 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

dislike to any intrusion on the part of the whites, be 
they Spaniards or foreigners. I was, however, fortu- 
nate in numbering among my warmest friends in Cen- 
tral America two gentlemen, who are the principal pur- 
chasers of the celebrated "Balsam of Peru," which is 
obtained exclusively by these Indians, and constitutes 
their only article of sale and sole source of wealth. 
They not only have an extensive acquaintance with the 
Indians, but also great influence over them, which was 
exercised in putting me in relation with some of the 
more intelligent ones in their visits to the city of San 
Salvador. I was thus enabled to obtain a vocabulary 
of their language, which is nearly identical with the 
ancient Nahual or Mexican. The differences which 
exist are indicated in the comparison which is else- 
where made. 

The towns of the Indians of the Balsam Coast occu- 
py generally the level summits of the low range of 
mountains which extend parallel to the coast at the 
distance of about three leagues inland. Their houses 
are all thatched with grass or palm leaves, the churches 
only being covered with tiles. The largest town has 
no more than two thousand inhabitants. Very few 
among these Indians knoAV how to read or write, but 
in this respect considerable advance has been made since 
the independence. 

The mechanical arts are little understood, and, of 
course, the fine arts still less practiced. Music is cul- 
tivated to some extent, but only as an accessory to pub- 
lic worship. They profess the Catholic religion, but 
with no very clear idea of its more exalted tenets ; and 
its ceremonies are interpolated with many peculiar ab- 
original rites. 

Their necessities are very limited. The women dress 

/ 



Chap. XVI.] habits of the aborigines. 333 

in a blue skirt of cotton cloth woven in San Salvador, 
but go naked above the waist. They make tAvo braids 
of their hair, trimming it with j^earl-colored ribbon, 
and when they go out, cover their heads with a tiara 
of mappoyan. The men dress in a trowsers of cloth, 
made of the native cotton, woven by themselves in a 
species of hand-loom. This, with a palm-leaf hat, such 
as are manufactured for sale in other parts of the state, 
completes their dress. 

Matrimony is celebrated both as a civil rite and re- 
ligious sacrament, as in other parts of the state ; but 
the ceremonies which precede it are different and pecul- 
ia-r. As soon as the boy attains the age of fourteen 
years, and the girl twelve, the parents agree upon the 
match, perhaps without consulting the inclinations of 
the principals, and sometimes in contravention of them. 
When the betrothal is effected, the father of the son 
takes the girl to his house, and is obliged to educate 
and maintain her as if she were his own child. The 
labor of both boy and girl is at his service, but when 
it is supposed the new couple are able to sustain them- 
selves, the parents jointly build a house, and give them 
means to start in life. 

It is, nevertheless, not uncommon to see among these 
Indians a family of three generations, all married, liv- 
ing in the same house, and dependent upon the oldest 
pair. 

These Indians respect not only the parental and pub- 
lic authority, but also the authority of age, in their 
public and especially in their private gatherings. They 
style the old persons '' Ahuales.'' This title and au- 
thority is only conceded to persons over forty years of 
ao-e, who have had charoje of the treasure-boxes of their 
various saints, or who have served in some public ca- 



334 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

pacity. But among these "officers" there is a rigorous 
scale of rank. 

Their laws are ostensibly those of the state, but, in 
point of fact, these are not consulted in their civil and 
criminal decisions. Custom and common sense consti- 
tute their code of procedure. The meetings of their 
cahildos, or municipal courts, are always held at night, 
commencing at seven in the evening, and lasting until 
ten, or even later, if the matter in hand require it. 
The cabildo is lighted by a fire of dry wood, built in 
one of its angles. Here the people assemble, with their 
hats in their hands, exhibiting the greatest submission 
and deference to the authorities. 

Their votes for president, deputies, etc., are always 
given in consonance with the indications which they 
receive from the seat of government, and which they 
regard in the light of orders. 

Agriculture among them is carried on only to the 
extent of producing the maize requisite for the year, 
and nothing more. Their sole wealth consists of their 
balsam, calculated approximately to amount to twenty 
thousand pounds annually, and which they sell at four 
rials, or half a dollar the pound. This, it might be 
supposed, would gradually place in their hands some 
property, but it is quite spent in the festivals of the 
saints, which are rather eating and drinking bouts than 
sacred feasts. 

Physically, these Indians have more angular and se- 
verer features than those of the other families of Gua- 
temala and Nicaragua. They are not so symmetrical 
in form, and are darker in color, more taciturn, and aj)- 
parently less intelligent. Their women are much small- 
er than those of the other Indian nations, are generally 
ugly, and, when old, little short of hideous. Through- 



Chap. XVI.] country of the nahuals. Soo 

out the state they are industrious, and San Salvador, 
favored generally with a fertile and arable soil, is un- 
doubtedly the best cultivated, as it is the best popu- 
lated state of Central America. 

Having thus indicated the present condition of the 
Nahuals of San Salvador, and the district within which 
the ancient race has preserved its blood unmixed and 
its peculiarities almost unchanged, I now propose to de- 
fine the extent of its occupation of the countr}^ at the 
period of the conquest. Upon this point the testimony 
of the early chroniclers is unusually direct, and, even if 
it were less so, the easily recognizable peculiarities of 
the Naliual names of places, of rivers, and other natu- 
ral objects, would afford us a very sure guide in oui' re- 
searches. 

When, in 1524, Pedro de Alvarado had subdued the 
kingdom of the Quiches, and received the submission 
of the Kachiquels, another powerful nation of the same 
stock, whose capital was not far from where the old 
city of Guatemala now stands, he obtained information 
of a gi'eat people situated farther to the southwest, on 
the coast of the South Sea, Avho were culled Fi2?iles, and 
mth whom the Kachiquels had little or no intercourse, 
and were in a state of almost constant warfare. In- 
cited by his Kachiquel allies, and still more by his own 
ambition, he determined to undertake their reduction, 
and for that purpose set out from the Kachiquel cap- 
ital with a large force of Sj^aniards and Indian auxil- 
iaries. 

Of this expedition Alvarado has liimself given us a 
summary in his second letter to Cortez, and it is still 
easy to trace the route of his army, from the names of 
the places Avhich successively fell under his arms, and 
which, with scarcely an exception, are still retained. 



336 EEPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XYI. 

Between the territories of tribes or nations in a state 
i^of constant hostility or Avarfare against each other, there 
must necessarily be a "disputed ground," depopulated 
and desolate. Such a belt of country was traversed 
by Alvarado after leaving the Kachiquel capital which 
it took him three days to pass. " His advance," says 
Juarros, "was slow, for the reason that there was no 
intercourse between the people of Guatemala and the 
Pipiles, and roads were unknown." 

On the third night, however, which was dark and 
rainy, he reached the town of Escuintepeque, and, al- 
though most of the inhabitants, seized with terror, fled 
without striking a blow, yet those who remained op- 
posed an obstinate resistance. After five hours' hard 
fio-htina;, he was oblio-ed to fire the town, which was 
done at several points. But even these desperate meas- 
ures failed, and it was not until he found means to 
threaten the principal cazique with the destruction of 
the neighboring plantations of cacao and maize that he 
was induced to surrender, Alvarado spent eight days 
here in reducing the neighboring towns and collecting 
the inhabitants from the forests, where they had fled in 
their alarm. He then advanced with his force, which 
now numbered three hundred Spanish infantry, one 
hundred horse, and six thousand Guatemalan and Tlas- 
calan auxiliaries, the latter being a portion of those 
who had accompanied him from Mexico. 

The next obstacle which opposed his course was the 
River MicJiatoyat^ which reaches the sea at the road- 
stead of Istapan, where Alvarado afterward built the 
vessels used in his expedition to Peru, and which is 
now the Pacific port of Guatemala. He crossed this 
river Avith difiiculty, and, after much hard fighting, re- 
duced, the towns of Atiquipaque (called Atipar by Al- 



Chap. XVI.] country of the nahuals. 337 

varado), Taxisco (Tassisco), and finally reached Guaza- 
capan, which, supported by Nextiquipaque, Chiquimul- 
la, Guaimaiga, and Guanagazapan, made a vigorous re- 
sistance. The Spaniards finally carried the place, but 
only to find it deserted by its inhabitants. Alvarado, 
after spending several days in vain attempts to induce 
them to return to their homes and submit to the Span- 
ish authority, was obliged to leave them unsubdued. 
They, however, ultimately submitted, of their own ac- 
cord, to the authorities of Guatemala. Juarros men- 
tions, as a singular circumstance, that the Indians of 
Guazacapan fought with little bells fastened to their 
wrists. 

Proceeding onward beyond the Rio de los Esclavos, 
Alvarado encountered the strong town of Pazaca, sup- 
ported by the neighboring towns of Sinacantan, Nau- 
cinta, Tecuaco, and others more distant. The Indians 
here strewed the ground with poisoned prickles, which 
wounded many of the horses and men, and caused them 
to die, in the course of two or three days, in great ag- 
ony. The battle before Pazaca was long and bloody, 
and finally resulted in favor of the Spaniards; "but 
the victory," says Juarros, " did not entirely decide the 
conquest of the district ; for, although some of the 
towns (among them Texutla) submitted, others, in 
strong force, still retained their liberty and native gov- 
ernments." 

Alvarado continued his advance past the Rio Paza 
(or Pazaca) into the district of Izalco, which then, as 
now, was densely populated. Here he encountered a 
stout resistance, and was himself severely wounded. 
He nevertheless captured Moquisalco (the present Mo- 
huisalco), Acatepeque, Acasual (Caxocal), Tlacusqual- 
co, and other towns, and finally reached the principal 

Y 



338 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

or capital town of the Naliuals, called Cuscatlan, a 
name which was also applied by them to their countr}^ 
at large. 

After remaining here seventeen days, the rainy sea- 
son coming on, Alvarado returned to the capital of the 
Kachiquels, near which he founded the ancient city of 
Guatemala. The details of the subsequent gradual re- 
duction of Cuscatlan to the Spanish authority have 
not reached us in a connected form. We only know 
that the people resisted the Spaniards with great in- 
trepidity, and that the latter only succeeded here, as 
elsewhere, through the agency of their horses and fire- 
arms. Without these the conquest of America could 
never have been effected. 

The name of the first town reduced by Alvarado in 
this expedition, namely, Escuintepeque, written also 
Iscuintepec, is undoubtedly Nahual, and probably de- 
rived from itzctdntli, the name of a species of indigen- 
ous dog, and tepee, mountain, or altepetl, place, i. e., 
Place or Mountain of the Dog. This town, which still 
exists, gave its name to the district which lies to the 
westward of the Rio Michatoyat, and within which, 
according to Juarros, the Sinca dialect was generally 
spoken. This may have been true, for the Nahuals 
often translated into their own language the names 
given to places in the territories of their neighbors, or, 
from inability to pronounce them, gave them names of 
their own. Thus Atziquinixai (the Home of the Ea- 
gle), which was the name of the capital of the Zutugil 
kingdom, was called Atitlcm by the Pipiles or Nahuals, 
^.vhich means, literally, place by the Avater, it being sit- 
uated on the banks of a lake. Quesaltenango was thus 
substituted for the Quiche Xelahuh, Zajoohitlan for 
Xetuhul; and in Nicaragua, Xolotlan for Nagrando. 



Chap. XVI.] country of the hahuals. o39 

It is not improbable, therefore, that Esciiintepeqiie was 
a name given by the Nahuals to a town of the Sincas, 
and preserved by the Spaniards in consequence of their 
previous greater familiarity with the Mexican language. 
Nor is it imj)ossible, on the other hand, that the 
Nahuals were spread along the coast, not only as far 
as Escuintepeque, but even to the Kiver Nagualate. "' 
Be this as it may, Alvarado expressly informs us that, 
after crossing the Kiver Michatoyat, he came to Atic- 
pas (Atiquipaque), wJiere the people spohe a different 
language from those of EsGumtepeqiie.'\ If the people 
of the latter town spoke the Nahual or Mexican, then 
it follows that the inhabitants of the district or prov- 
ince of Guazacapan, which extended from the Rio Mi- 
chatoyat to the Rio Paza (or Aguachapa), had a dif- 
ferent language. This conclusion would derive some 
support from the apparent total absence of Nahual 
names in that district. Herrera, how^ever, gives us the 
probable key to the entire difficulty. He says, " The 
natives of this province are Mtmhle, and speah the Mex- 
ican tongue^ cdthough they have another pecidiar to them- 
selves. When heathens^ they observed the rites of the 
Chontals of Honduras.'' We may fairly infer from 
this testimony that the district of Guazacapan was oc- 
cupied by a people probably of the same family with 
the Chontals of Honduras, who had either been sub- 
jected by their Nahual neighbors and compelled tf> 
adopt their language, or who had gradually gained a 

* The name of this river seems to be compounded of Nahual, or. as it was uni- 
versally written by the old chroniclers, Nagual, and atU contracted into at, water, 
). e., River of the Nahuals. 

t Fuentes states that the Nahual language was confined to " certain parts on 
the sea-coast, commcncinsr at the town'bf Escuintepeque." Elsewhere, referrincr 
to the march of Alvarado, he says he advanced on Escuintepeque, " que es la tierra 
de los Pipiles." 



340 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

knoAvlecIge of it, and assimilated in other respects with 
them from long contact and association. Their assim- 
ilation probably had become sufficiently complete to 
justify us in classing them under the same general des- 
i agnation. 

After passing the Rio Paza (Pazaca, or Aguachapa) 
into the district of Izalco, all doubts as to the relation- 
ship of the inhabitants disappear. They were, at the 
period of the conquest, as they now are, undoubted Na- 
huals ; and from that river to the banks of the River 
Lempa, the people were entirely homogeneous. That 
the Lempa constituted their boundary on the south- 
west appears not only from the total absence of Na- 
hual or Mexican names to the eastward of that river, 
in the ancient province of Chaparristique, now San 
Miguel, but also from the direct testimony of Herrera, 
who informs us that the town of Iztepeque, situated at 
the foot of the volcano of San Vicente, in the imme- 
diate vicinity of the city of the same name, was the last 
town of the Nahuals in that direction. I quote his 
own language : "At this town of Iztepeque begins the 
country of the Chontals, speaking another language, ■ 
and a brutish people."* 

The Lempa seems also to have bounded the territory 
of the Nahuals upon the north ; at any rate, there are 
but one or two towns bearing names in their dialect on 
the left bank of that river ; and even if they did pass 
it at any point, their farther spread in that direction 
must have been speedily arrested by the high, desert 
ranges of the Cordilleras, which lie parallel to the val- 
ley of the Lempa in that direction, and which consti- 
tuted the southern limits of the district of Corquin, 
whose inhabitants were aflied politically, if not by 

* Herrera, vol. iv., p. 154. 



Chap. XVI.] country of the nahuals. 341 

blood, to the people of Copan, who were themselves of 
the Kachiquel family. Lempira, the last of the chiefs 
of Corquin, made his final stand against the Spaniards 
on the mountain of Piriera, which overlooks the valley 
of the River Lempa, in the name of which beautiful 
stream his own is commemorated. 

It follows, then, that the Nahuals of San Salvador, 
at the period of the conquest, were spread over the en- 
tire country embraced between the River Michatoyat 
(possibly the River Nagualate) on the northwest, the 
River Lempa on the southeast, and between the Pa- 
cific Ocean on one side, and the abrupt ranges of the 
Cordilleras, overlooking the valley of the Lempa, on 
the other; that is to say, over a territory from one 
hundred and eighty to two hundred miles in length, by 
an average of sixty miles in width, and embracing an 
area of not far from eleven thousand square miles. 

The chroniclers are unanimous in representing this 
district of country as "one of the best peopled in all 
America." It had many large towns, well built, and 
in all respects equal to those of Mexico. In his letter 
to Cortez, Alvarado tells us that, beyond the city of 
Cuscatlan, the farthest point which he reached in his 
first expedition, "there were great cities and villages, 
built of lime and stone." He adds also, by way of 
apology for not continuing his enterj)rise, that the 
country was too extensive and densely populated to 
admit of his subjugating it before the setting in of the 
rainy season. 

The name given to the country of the Nahuals of 
San Salvador was Cuscatlan, which, according to the 
chronicler Vasquez, signified '■'■tierra de prefeas 6 f re- 
seas^''' or, freely translated, "land of riches," a name 
which, considering the great beauty of the country, its 



342 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

fertility of soil, and variety and luxuriance of vegeta- 
tion, was equally appropriate and beautiful/" It was 
also called, according to the same authority, Zalcoa- 
titJan. 

According to Juarros, the name Plpil was given to 
the peoj)le of Cuscatlan from the circumstance that 
"•they sjDoke a corrupt dialect of the Mexican language, 
^vith a childish pronunciation : the word pipil signi- 
fying children." This name is certainly no longer, 
known, and it may be doubted if it was ever accepted 
or applied as a general designation. It may, indeed, 
have been used contemptuously by the Mexicans who 
accompanied Alvarado, and who, no doubt, affected a 
superiority over their kindred in Cuscatlan. Pipil- 
pdpil is rendered by Molina, in his Dictionary, by the 
Spanish term mucJiachuelos, small boys ; and p)ip)illotl 
by mmVea, childishness. The translator of the "Codex 
Chimalpopoca," quoted by Bourbourg, renders pipil- 
2npil by viejitos, little old men. 
Ni The term Nahual or Nagual^ and its ancient plural 
Nanahuatl^ are the names under which all the tribes 
who spoke the Mexican idiom were known. It signi- 
hed, in this application, an expert man, Avho spoke well 
his own language. In its primitive sense, the word 
nahualli meant secret, occult, mysterious, and in later 
periods came to designate a man versed in judicial as- 
trology and the arts, a sorcerer or magician. The Span- 
iards gave the name of nagualismo to certain mysteri- 
ous rites which are practiced to this day by the Indians, 
us also to their idolatrous practices generally. Nunez 
do la Vega, in his " Constituciones Diocesanas," has 
given us an account of the Nagualistas of his day, at 

* Cuscatl, in the Mexican language, signifies jewel or precious stone, and Ian is 
a common terminal signifying place or locality. 



Chap. XVI.] aboriginal government. 343 

which time the term nagual was used to express the 
idea of a demon or familiar spirit. 

The form of government which existed in the ancient 
Cuscathin seems not to have differed from tliat which 
prevailed among the people of the same stock in Mex- 
ico ; that is to say, there were a large number of petty 
chiefs, who exercised authority over single towns or 
districts and their immediate dependencies, but all, from 
their affinity in blood, language, and religion, more or 
less allied politically, and generally acting in concert. 
Such was the case in Mexico ; but the relationship was 
not so intimate as to prevent them from occasionalh' 
Avarring upon each other. A prunitive state of society 
is inconsistent wdth extended dominion. Power, to be 
great, must be concentrated, and concentration mthout 
means of easy and rapid communication is impossible. 
The transmission and execution of orders, collection of 
men and supplies, and the movements of forces, all req- 
uisites to the establishment and support of an empire 
of any considerable ext^ent, are impossible without the 
aids to be derived from navigation, the subordination 
of horses, or other beasts of burden, and the opening 
of roads ; without these, conquests can not be retained, 
nor local ambitions or discontents held in check. The 
empire of the Incas, the only one worthy of the name 
which was established by the aborigines in America, 
owed its existence, in a great degree, to the naturally 
easy means of communication between its various parts, 
improved by the construction of a vast system of roads 
and bridges, traversed regularly by a well-organized 
corps of messengers for the transmission of intelli- 
gence. 

Juarros, quoting at second-hand fromFuentes, sj)eaks 
of a monarchy as having been established over the Pi- 



344 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

piles a short time previous to the conquest, but, for 
reasons elsewhere given, the whole account may be re- 
garded as apocryphal. Neither Alvarado, nor any of 
the chroniclers, with this exception, refer to any higher 
authority in Cuscatlan than the local chieftains. Had 
there existed a king, or a chief having a general su-' 
premacy like that exercised by Montezuma in Mexico, 
the fact would not have escaped a special mention, for 
the vainglory of the conquistadors was more ajDt to lead 
them to exaggerate than undervalue the importance of 
the chiefs whom they subjugated. No doubt there 
were individual chiefs who possessed a power superior 
to the others, exercising a great influence over them, 
and perhaps arrogating a qualified authority ; but, as 
I have said, this is a point upon which we have no pre- 
cise information. 

Upon the general subject of the religion and the 
manners and customs of the people, our information is 
also exceedingly scanty, and what we know is chiefly 
derived from the imperfect summary given by Herrera. 
We may, however, safely assume that, in these respects, 
they corresponded very closely with the affiliated na- 
tions of Mexico. It appears certain that they had an 
organized priesthood, and a class of persons correspond- 
ing to the keepers of the records of the valley of Ana- 
huac. Their high-priest, says Herrera, wore a long 
blue dress, had a species of mitre on his head, from 
which depended bunches of feathers of various colors, 
and carried in his hand a species of staff or crosier. 
Next to him in rank was "a notable doctor in their 
books and sorceries, who explained their omens." Be- 
sides these there was a kind of ecclesiastical council, 
composed of four persons, who were consulted on all 
matters pertaining to the rites of religion. In case of 



Chap. XVI.] religion of the nahuals. 345 

the death of the high-priest, a successor was selected 
from these four by the chief and council, by lot. 

They paid adoration to the rising sun, and "had l^ 
two idols, one in the shape of a man and the other of 
a woman, " to whom they offered sacrifices. Their sac- 
rifices were made at particular periods, which were 
fixed by their calendars. There were, however, two 
principal ones, viz., "at the beginning of winter and 
the commencement of summer," probably at the peri- 
ods of the summer and winter solstices. On these oc- 
casions, according to Herrera, they sacrificed human 
beings, illegitimate children of their own nation, "fi'om 
six to twelve years of age." The ceremony and ac- 
companying rites were the same as those practiced in 
Mexico, and consisted in tearing out the heart of the 
victim, and scattering his blood to the four points of 
the compass. The priests were consulted on the sub- 
ject of declaring war, and successful wars were cele- 
brated by festivals, which lasted for fifteen days, each 
of which was distinguished by the sacrifice of a prison- 
er. If the sacrifices were made to the female divinity, 
the festival lasted for but five days. 

Marriages seem to have been made under the direc- 
tion of the chiefs, and consisted in first submitting the 
parties to lustrations, such as washing them in a river, 
and afterward tying them together in the bride's house, 
whither the relations brought .presents to the new 
couple, the priest and cazique being present at the cer- 
emonies. Children received their names from the 
priests, to whom presents were made on the occasion 
of naminsc the child. After childbirth the mother was 
obliged to submit to a lustration in a running stream, 
to the waters of which an offering of copal and cocoa 
was subsequently made, "that it might not hurt her." 



346 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

Only the kindred lamented for the death of ordinary- 
persons, but the death of a cazique or war-chief was 
signalized by a general mourning of four days, at the 
end of which time the priest announced that the soul 
of the deceased was with the gods. The son of the 
chief, or, in default of one, his nearest relative, suc- 
ceeded to his authority. Rape was punished with 
death ; adultery by making the offender the slave of 
the injured husband, "unless pardoned by the high- 
priest on account of past services in war." There were 
certain degrees of relationship, seven in number, within 
which it was unlawful to marry, and within which all 
sexual intercourse was punished with death. Upon 
matters of this kind there existed the greatest rigor ; 
"for," says Herrera, "he who courted or made signs 
to a married woman was banished. " Fornication was 
punished by whipping. Robbers, according to Juar- 
ros, were banished, and murderers put to death by be- 
ing thrown from a high rock. 

The assertion of Herrera as to the practice of hu- 
man sacrifices is distinct and unqualified ; but if we 
are to credit the Pipil MS. quoted by Fuentes, and 
after him by Juarros, these sacrifices were so repugnant 
to the people that the attempt of Cuaucmichin to in- 
troduce them led to the general insurrection of the 
people, and his own deposition and death ; but, as I 
have already had occasion to observe, I attach but little 
value to this authority, and have no doubt of the ex- 
istence of human sacrifices, as afiirmed by Herrera. 

Juarros gives us an account of the origin of the Pi- 
pil Indians, which appears to have been chiefly drawn 
from Fuentes, who, in turn, seems to have relied main- 
ly upon a certain MS. history of that j^eople, written 
by one of the Pipil chiefs. It represents that Autzol 



Chap. XVI.] the pipils. 347 

(Ahuitzol), the eighth king of Mexico (who reigned 
from 148G to 1502), faiUng in his attempts to reduce 
the Tzendals, Quiches, Kachiquels, and their affihated 
nations to his authority by force, sought to effect the 
same object by fraud. To this end he directed a great 
number of his Indian subjects to introduce themselves 
by degrees into the country, under the disguise of mer- 
chants, so as to be ready to co-oj^erate with him when 
he should next undertake its subjugation. This plan 
was defeated by his own sudden death in 1502. The 
Indians, however, who had thus obtained a footing in 
the country, "multiplied immensely," and spread over 
the provinces of Sonsonate and San Salvador. Being 
of the lowest class of the population, and speaking a 
corrupt dialect of the Mexican language with a child- 
ish accent, they were called Pipiles, "which signifies 
children." 

Tlieir rapid increase alarmed their Kachiquel and 
Quiche neighbors, who sought every opportunity to op- 
press them. They nevertheless made a firm resistance, 
and established a large army, under the direction of 
warlike chiefs, for their defense. These chiefs gradu- 
ally came to exercise supreme authority over the peo- 
ple, and the principal cazique, named Ouaucmichin, 
finally undertook to introduce human sacrifices. This 
attempt aroused the people, who killed him in their 
rage. They then elected a chief of mild character 
named Tutecotzimit as their head, and reduced all the 
other chiefs to the class of alahuaes, or heads of cal- 
puls. Nevertheless, Tutecotzimit was not without am- 
bition ; and, desirous of perpetuating the sovcrcignt}- 
in his own family, he created a council of eight mem- 
l)ers, composed of his own relations and adherents, 
A^'hom he constituted nobles. These officers were in- 



348 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

vested with high authority, and distinguished from all 
others by long robes of particular colors, the use of 
which was interdicted to every other rank. While do- 
ing this for his own benefit, he ameliorated the condi- 
tion of the people at large, and made himself so popu- 
lar that the supreme power was vested in him and his 
family without ojDjDOsition. The descent was fixed in 
the eldest son, provided, in the opinion of the council 
above alluded to, he was competent to the administra- 
tion of aifairs ; if not, the second son was made king, 
or else the nearest relative of the deceased sovereign. 
Females were excluded from the succession, but this 
limitation did not prevent them from inheriting prop- 
erty. All high employments, civil and military, were 
the prerogatives of the nobles, "who could only reach 
that dignity through the gradations of inferior offi- 
ces." 

This traditionary account, so far as it professes to 
relate the origin of the so-called Pipil population, is 
simply puerile and absurd. Both Fuentes and Juar- 
ros must have forgotten that Ahuitzol ascended the 
throne of Mexico no earlier than 1486, only thirty-six 
years before Alvarado invaded Guatemala. The lat- 
ter found the country, from the River Michitoyat to 
the Lempa, a distance of more than one hundred and 
sixty miles, entirely and densely populated by these In- 
dians of the Nahual stock, who were regularly organ- 
ized, and possessed large and well-built towns. On the 
hypothesis of this tradition, "the merchants" sent by 
the cunning Ahuitzol must not only have dislodged the 
original occupants of the country and built many large 
towns, but also increased their numbers to this incred- 
ible extent, all in the short space of thirty years, for 
the tradition distinctly says that the Mexican monarch 



Chap. XVI.] origin of the nahuals. 349 

did not resort to this scheme until after his attempts to 
reduce the Guatemalan nations by force had failed. 

The relations which existed between the Nahuals or 
Pipiles and their neighbors of Guatemala are repre- 
sented by all the chroniclers as the reverse of cordial. 
"The people of Guatemala," says Fuentes, "held them 
in great contempt, and never mixed with them." 

Without at present venturing into any speculations 
on the subject of the origin of the Nahuals of Nicaragua 
and San Salvador, it may nevertheless be observed that 
the hypothesis of a migration from Nicaragua and Cus- 
catlan to Anahuac is altogether more consonant with 
probabilities and ^^dth tradition than that which de- 
rives the Mexicans from the north. And it is a sig- 
nificant fact, that in the map of their migrations pre- 
sented by Gemelli, the place of the origin of the Az- 
tecs is designated by the sign of water {(dl standing for 
Aztlan\ a pyramidal temple mth grades, and near these 
a palm-tree. This circumstance did not escape the at- 
tention of the observant Humboldt, who says, "I am 
astonished at finding a palm near this teocalli. This 
tree certainly does not indicate a northern region.'" 
We must look for the primitive country of the Nahu- 
als to the south of Mexico. No history, chronicle, or 
known hieroglyphic of the Mexicans assigns a north- 
ern origin to the Nahual tribes, excej)t the relation of 
Ixtlilxuchitl, who wrote at the expiration of a consid- 
erable period after the conquest, and who, in this, only 
followed Cortez and the Spanish authors who had pre- 
ceded him. Even Montezuma, in his conversation with 
Cortez, afiirmed that his ancestors came from a differ- 
ent direction ; but the Spaniards, conceiving that they 
must have come from the north, pronounced the emper- 
or in error, as if he were not better acquainted with 
the traditions of his own people than themselves ! 



350 REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 

Upon the subject of the language of the Nahuals of 
Cuscatlan there is very little to be presented. As I 
have already said, I obtained a short vocabulary of the 
dialect now spoken on the Balsam Coast from one of the 
principal men of the village of Chiltiapam, which falls 
within that district. I also obtained a few words from 
an Indian of the large town of Izalco, near Sonsonate. 
In both cases I adopted the Spanish orthography, and 
have not only given the sounds of the words as closely 
as it was possible for me to convey them, but also 
without any attempt to harmonize them with the Mex- 
ican. From the subjoined comparative table it will be 
seen that the variations from the Mexican of the dic- 
tionaries is very slight — hardly greater than would be 
made by different investigators in writing do^vn the 
same words as they might be sounded to them by the 
same person. Tlie principal variation is precisely that 
which I have elsewhere had occasion to remark in the 
pronunciation of the Nahuals of Nicaragua, viz., the 
general omission or contraction of the well-known 
Mexican terminal tl or tli. Some other peculiarities 
are indicated in a MS. note prefixed to a copy of Mo- 
lina's Mexican Dictionary (1571), which I had the good 
fortune to obtain in the city of San Salvador, and which 
I have reason to believe belonged to the now extinct 
convent of the San Franciscan monks, who were the 
first to introduce Christianity in the ancient Cuscatlan. 
This note is partially obliterated, but the paragraphs 
which can be made out are are as follows : 

" In this province the I is not pronounced ; thus, in 
tlativez, to throw, the I is omitted, and the word he- 
c.om.es> tativez : nor do they * "" * * '•' '" as, for 
example, totox becomes toto, or * * * . The c is 
confounded with the g, and thus for cue they say que. 



Chap. XVI.] the nahual language. 



351 



:>- ^ * jN^Qj. ^Q ^yQ ^j^j ^^^^ -j^ these parts, nor ta ; 
thus, for tlatemu^ to descend, they say simply temu.'' 



English. 


Nahual of Mexico. 


Nahual of Balsam Coast. 


Nahual of b.alco. 


man. 


tlacatl. 


tacat. 




woman, 


cihuatl. 


ciguat. 




head. 


tzontecon, 


tzunteco. 




hair. 


tzuntli, 


tzunka. 




hand, 


niaitl, 


mapipi. 




heart. 


yullotli, 


yul. 




bread (wheat), 


tlaxcalli, 


tashkat. 




heaven. 


ylhuicatl, 


ilhuicac. 




sun, 


tonatiuh, 


tona. 


tonal. 


moon, 


metztli, 


mezti. 


ihetzti. 


star, 


citlali, 


citatl. 


cital. 


night, 


tlalli, 


tailua. 




wind. 


ehecafl. 


ehecat. 




fire, 


tletl, 


titl, 


tet. 


water, 


atl. 


at, 


at. 


earth. 


tlalli, 


tal, 


tal. 


inountain. 


tepetl, 


tepetl. 




stone. 


tetl. 


tetl. 


tet. 


maize. 


centli. 


cinte. 


cinte. 


tree, 


quauitl, 


quahuit, 


quahuit. 


grass. 


9acatl, 


sacat. 




pine-tree, 


oco-quauitl, 


ocot. 




deer. 


mazatl, 


mazal. 




rabbit. 


tochtli, 


tutzti. 




snake. 


coatl, 


coatl, 


cahuat. 


bird, 


tototl, 


totot. 




fish. 


michiri, 


niitzin. 




white. 


yztac. 


itztac. 




black. 


tliltic. 


tiltic. 




red. 


chichiltic, 


chiltic. 




gi-eat, big, 


vey, 


hue. 




many, 


miec. 


miak. 




church, 


teupan. 


teupan, 


tnpan. 


house. 


calli, 


ka, 


cal. 



352 



REPUBLIC OF SAN SALVADOR. [ChAP. XVI. 



English. 
1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 
11 
12 
20 



Nahual of Mexico. 

ce, 

one, 

yey, 

naui, 

maquilli, 

cMcace, 

chicome, 

chicuey, 

cliicunaui, 

matlactli, 

matlactlionce, 



Nahual of Balsam Coast. Nahual of Izalco. 



ce, 

ome, 

yae, 

naliue, 

maquil, 

chicuasin. 

chicome. 

cliicuei. 

chicunahue, 

mahtlati. 

mahtatice. 



ce. 

home. 

yey. 

nahue. 

maquil. 



matlactliomome, mahtatiome. 
cempoualli, cempual. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



A. 

SEGOVIA, CHONTALES, AND THE MOSQUITO SHORE. 

rriHE map accompanying this memoir presents some new in- 
-^ formation respecting the northern districts of Nicaragua, 
known respectively as Nueva Segovia and Chontales. This is 
one of the most interesting and valuable portions of Central 
America. It is, in fact, part of the great central plateau of Hon- 
duras, and, like all the other sections of that state, is compara- 
tively cool and salubrious, well watered, abounding in "minerals 
and the precious metals, and producing many of tlic fruits of the 
temperate zone. Segovia is very sparsely populated, and but an 
insignificant portion of its surface has been brought under culti- 
vation. The principal occupation of its inhabitants is mining. 
Silver ores are most abundant ; the ores of gold are common, 
and there are streams in which the Indians carry on gold-wash- 
ing, but in a rude way and on a small scale. Copper and the 
inferior metals are also found in quantities which, in other coun- 
tries and under different circumstances, would contribute greatly 
to the general w^ealth. Chontales is described by Chevalier 
Friedrichsthal as having, "in general, an alluvial soil, being an 
undulating country, without any very determinate character, fur- 
rowed by gullies and narrow runs of water, and dipping general- 
ly to the southwest. Porphyry appears but rarely on the sur- 
face."* It is chiefly a grazing region, but has lately obtained 
some notoriety from its mines of gold. Recently, it is alleged, 
coal has been discovered. The large river Escondido (called 
Bluefields on the Englisli maps, and known as Lama by the 
people of Segovia, and as Siquia by tlic Indians) flows through 
this department. 

In case emigration from, tlic United States or Europe should 
* Journal of llic Royal Geographical Sociciv of London, vol. iii., p. 78. 

z 



354 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



ever take the direction of Central America, there is no doubt but 
the elevated districts of Honduras and Segovia would become 
rapidlj populated, and rise to be among the most important sec- 
tions of the entire country ; and had the several European at- 
tempts to plant settlements in Central America been made here, 
instead of on the low, hot alluvions of the coast, it is probable 
thej would have escaped the complete and disastrous failures 
which have overtaken them all. 

The principal towns in Nueva Segovia are Ocotal, Matagalpa, 
Jalapa, Acoyapa, and Depilto. The latter is a mining town in 
the centre of a rich mineral district. Six leagues distant are the 
mines of Marquilisa, lately worked by citizens of the United 
States. There is here a line stream, with thirty feet fall, capable 
of carrying extensive machinery. The other mines best known 
are those named Mina Grande, de St. Albino, Santa Maria, 
Santa Il5sa, Esquipulas, Limon, and Agua Podrida. In respect 
to the general mineral wealth of this department, I am, fortu- 
nately, able to present the following letters, the first of which was 
addressed to me in 1850, while residing in Leon de Nicaragua, 







MINING TOWN OF DEPILTO, NUEVA SEGOVIA. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 355 

by Don F. D. Zapata, then prefect of the department. The sec- 
ond was written, in reply to some inquiries of my own, by a gen- 
tleman recently engaged in raining in that district. 

"Prefect's Office and Military Comtnandancy of ) 
Nueva Segovia, Ocolal, Oct. 4, 1850. \ 

" Dear Sir, — Appended hereto is a list of various mines of the precious 
metals and gold-washings known to exist to the east and northwest of this 
city, which I have obtained from responsible persons for transmission to you. 
They are worthy of attracting the attention of all Nicaraguans, and especially 
of the industrious and enterprising people of the United States. 1 am indebt- 
ed to Don Gregorio Herrcra, an inhabitant of the valley of Arrayan, for much 
of my information. He has been occupied for many years in the gold-wash- 
ings of that district, and has sent to me here a load of the auriferous sand from 
the ravine (gulch) of Salamaji. It is proper to add that, in the vicinity of 
these gold- washings, the land is of the richest quality, and that the hills are 
covered with valuable woods and medicinal herbs. The district is well wa- 
tered, maintaining the grass always green, and is therefore well adapted for 
cattle. 

" In conclusion, I can only say that I shall avail myself of all the leisure 
which I may have to inform you of the character and resources of this inter- 
esting region. As ever, truly your obedient servant, F. D. Zapata." 

Report 011 the Gold-washings, and the Mines of Gold an'd Silver, which 
exist to the east of this City (Ocotal), on the Mam Road to Jalapa. 

" 1. At the distance of two leagues and a half from this city are the ravines 
(quehradas) of Chachaguas, with gold dust mingled with the sand. 

" 2. On the same road to Jalapa, at the distance of four leagues from this 
city, are the ravines of Salamaji, containing several gold-washings, yielding 
gold in considerable quantities, and of superior quality. 

"3. In the same direction, six leagues from this city, is the ravine of Alali, 
gold-washings worked by the Giiirises, and whence the neighbors of the val- 
ley of Arrayan have constantly obtained large quantities. 

" 4. Eleven leagues from this city is the ravine of Leones, where there is 
a gold mine ; gold-washings also exist here. 

" 5. Sixteen leagues from this city is the rich silver mine of Limon, from 
which has been taken much native silver. It is now filled with water. 

" G. Returning from Limon, and taking the road to the left toward Jicaro, 
before arriving at Muyuca, at the distance of seventeen leagues from this city, 
is to be found a vein rich in shining metal, but which has not yet been assay- 
ed. It is called Higuera. 

" 7. Following the road to Jicaro, in the vicinity of Sabana-grande, twelve 
leagues from this city, is the mine of Macuelisito, rich in silver ore. 

" 8. Takinf a course to the right from here, and fourteen leagues from 
this city, are the mines of Santa Albino, and in their vicinity those of Tirado, 
both of gold. 



356 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

" 9. From this place to the left, on the road to Ciudad Vieja (old Segovia), 
twenty-seven leagues from this city, is the ravine of Quilali, whence the 
Giiirises have taken considerable quantities of gold dust of superor quality. 
" Submitted to the Prefect of the Department Ocotal, October 1, 1850. 

" Miguel Artola. 
" Benito Pena. 
" Francisco Irias." 

Addition to the above, by Don Gregorio Herrera, living in the Valley of 

Arrayan. 

NAMES OF RAVINES AND STREAMS. 

" 1. Chaguite — Gives large grains of gold in abundance, and of good 
quality. 

"2. Perillos — Abundant in the same class of metal. 

"3. Quebrachos — Good gold, but in smaller grains, and less abundant. 

"4. Javonera — Gold abundant and good. 

" 5. Rio de Alali — Carries gold, and on the banks are five mantos (banks 
or placers) of the same metal. 

" 6. Ravine San Lorenzo — Gold in large grains abundant. 

" 7. Ravine Zapote — Like the above, with two placers. 

"8. Rio Apali — Carries gold, and has a placer. 

" 9. Ravine Santa Albino — Like the above, and near it many abandoned 
works. 

" 10. Ravine Almorzadero — Rich in good gold. 

"11. Ala de Quilali — Here are three small ravines, carrying much gold, 
and two placers. 

" 12. Rio Jicaro — From the direction of Quilali, three ravines, with gold. 

" 13. Rio Santa Pablo — Has much gold and abundant supplies of food. 

" 14. Ravine Las Cucharas — Here runs the Yauli into the Rio Jicaro, 
with gold of good quality in abundance. 

" 15. San Francisco — Three ravines, with abundance of gold. 

" From Ocotal to the most distant ravines, the distance, more or less, is 
twenty-five leagues. From the above it appears that there are twenty-one 
gold-bearing streams and ten placers. F. D. Zapata." 

" New York, April 12, 1854. 

" Dear Sir, — In answer to your letter regarding the Department of Sego- 
via, in the State of Nicaragua, I would say that I have resided there for near- 
ly three years, and that its mineral wealth is very great. 

" On leaving the city of Granada for that department, the road lies through 
a low plain, covered with the mahogany and other valuable trees, for the dis- 
tance of twelve leagues, until you arrive at the town of Tipitapa. 

" This town is on the river of the same name, which is the outlet of the 
Lake of Managua. It is a small place, inhabited by a dark population. There 
is a boiling spring here, near the falls of the river. 

" After crossing the river, the road runs along its borders through a denst; 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 357 

forest, with a very rich soil. Here is found the logwood (Nicaragua-wood) 
in great abundance. 

" Two leagues from Tipitapa is the hacienda of San Ildefonso, a large cat- 
tle estate. The land from this point begins to rise. After passing three oth- 
er large haciendas, the first difficult ascent is found. It is an abrupt hill, very 
toilsome for mules, covered with small stones made round by their passage. 
On reaching the top of the hill, the country opens into a large plain, covered 
with 'guacaV trees. The soil of this plain is a black clay, very difficult to 
pass in the rainy season. In the summer it is dry and destitute of vegetation. 

" The hacienda of La Concepcion completes the second day's journey, be- 
ing fourteen leagues from the town of Tipitapa. 

" From La Concepcion to the town of Chocoyas is eight leagues, over the 
same plain, covered with broken lava. One league from Chocoyas the road 
crosses, by a ford, the large river of Matagalpa. 

" Chocoyas is a large old Spanish town. In the plaza are the ruins of a 
large church, commenced many years since, but never completed. 

" In the hills which surround the town many veins of gold and silver ore 
have been found, and in the gulches near are very beautiful white carnelians. 

" Magnetic iron ore is also found near this place. The road, after leaving 
the town, crosses the same river. The character of the country is the same, 
being a perfectly level plain for about six leagues, when the land rapidly rises, 
tni the town of La Trinidad is reached. This is a beautifully-situated place, 
lying in a lovely valley, surrounded by the most fertile land in the world. To 
the right are the gold mines of Jicora. From La Trinidad the ascent is very 
abrupt for about four leagues, when the table-land is again reached. The 
distance to the town of Esteli is seven leagues. 

" Esteli is a little town in a small plain, through which winds a river of th(^ 
same name, which empties into the Lake of Managua. There is a grist-mill 
here, and the country produces considerable wheat, of medium quality. There 
are large quantities of wild silk in the forests, and many veins of silver ore 
have been found in the hills. From here to the hacienda of Ablandon the 
land rises in abrupt ascents, alternating with table lands, producing the best 
grass in the state. From this hacienda the land again rises, and, on attaining 
the summit, a lovely plain of about three leagues in length is crossed. The 
descent from the plain is equally abrupt with the ascent. From the summit 
the volcano of Momotorabo is plainly seen. The road then follows the river 
of Condega for about six leagues, crossing it thirteen times, untQ the pretty 
town of the same name is reached. This is one of the finest towns in the 
state, having a church and many good dwellings. From this place to the In- 
dian town of Palacaguina is two leagues, through a higldy fertile country. 
From Palacaguina to Totogalpa is four leagues ; from Totogalpa to Marquilisa 
is seven leagues. This town is the centre of the mining district in this state. 
In every direction about it the hills are filled with silver and gold ore. With- 
in a circuit of three leagues there are over fifty veins of silver ore known. 
These have not been explored, as there is no capital here to carry on any 
works of the kind. Copper mines have also been found near. 



358 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

"There is a fine vein of iron ore, and also a tin mine, in the vicinity. Sev- 
en leagues from Marquilisa is the town of Depilto. Here are the works of 
Don F. Paguaga and Don Felix Cerra. They have several very valuable 
mines, and in the town and in its vicinity are over a hundred of the best veins 
known. Copper ore is also found, though not to the same extent. 

" Respectfully yours, J.S.Bradbury." 

Several large streams flowing into the Atlantic take their rise 
in Segovia. The largest of these are the Rio Escondido, run- 
ning along the base of the range of mountains which shuts in 
the basin of Nicaragua on the north, and the Rio Coco, Wanks 
or Segovia, which, for the greater part of its course, constitutes 
the boundary between Nicaragua and Honduras. It flows into 
the Atlantic at Cape Gracias a Dios, in latitude 15° N. Neither 
of these streams is well known. From all accounts, with the 
exception of the parts flowing through the alluvions and level 
lands of the coast, they are rapid, and the navigation is impeded 
by rocks and falls. Canoes and piraguas, nevertheless, do as- 
cend both, almost to their sources, but always with difficulty. 

I have in mj possession an original letter from Don Fran- 
cisco Irias, who descended this river in 1842. He observes that 
it has several large tributaries, the Coa and Poteca from the 
north, and the Bocay and Pantasma from the south, and pro- 
ceeds : 

" I pass now to describe the rapids, which commence at the place called 
Pailla. They are, Gualiquitan, which has a strong current, and a broken, 
narrow channel between the rocks, but which may be passed without the least 
danger. Ulacuz, which is similar, but also without danger, abounding in wa- 
ter derived from the great river Ulacuz, which falls from the right, from fear- 
ful {espantosa) mountains, in my opinion extending to the southeast. Guas- 
curu has its rapids, which, though somewhat abrupt, are without risk in the 
passage. Quiroz is similar, although there is a fall before arriving to it, 
around which, however, nature has formed a canal, so that the navigation of 
the river is uninterrupted. . Turuquitan is a rapid or narrows, which is only 
dangerous for the transportation of cattle, on account of a great rock in the 
middle of a stream, upon which, if the rowers are not dexterous, the rafts are 
sure to run. But accidents are rare, inasmuch as the oarsmen are accustomed 
to this kind of navigation from their youth. Suginquitan is another unim- 
portant rapid. At Crantara the current is strong, but the passage is entirely 
practicable, as is also the case at Pistalquitan. The rapid of Cairas, at 
iirst sight, terrifies the voyager with its rushing, foaming, and tumultuous wa- 
ters, yet does not prevent his passage, for nature has also here provided mar- 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 359 

velously for overcoming the difficulty, and made a side canal, before arriving 
at the dangerous point, by means of which the boats can be passed by the 
oarsmen in an hour with entire safety. Tilras and Quipispe are the final 
rapids, and are unimportant. 

" These are the sole obstructions to the navigation of the river from the 
point of embarkation to the sea, at Cape Gracias a Dios. At present the de- 
scent occupies about ten days. Two days are taken up in descending the 
rapids here described, and four in ascending them. It will be observed that 
only about a fifth part of the river is in any way obstructed. The delay in 
the voyage is chiefly occasioned by unloading and reloading at some of the 
points above mentioned. From the last-named rapids to the cape there is 
scarcely any current, and it is necessary to use the oars. This part of the 
country through whieii the river passes is very beautiful, being composed of 
open plains covered with grass and scattered trees. It is a section well adapt- 
ed to raising black cattle and horses, as also to the introduction of colonies, 
which, in a few years, could attain to prosperity and riches upon its virgin 
soil in cultivating its numerous valuable fruits, and in consequence of its prox- 
imity to the cape and the Great Antilles affording easy means of exportation 
and a market. Mules and horses may here be raised in the greatest abund- 
ance, and profitably shipped to Cuba, Jamaica, and other points where most 
valued. 

" It is lamentable to find so beautiful a coast with no other population ex- 
cept a few worthless Moscos (Mosquitos), unable, from want of education, as 
unfitted by disposition, to attain to any improvement in the future. I will en- 
deavor to give some idea of their savage situation and customs. Most of 
them subsist by hunting and fishing, and a very few by a rude and petty agri- 
culture, planting, in little patches on the borders of the river, small quantities 
of plantains, yucas, sweet cane, and cotton, the last of which is rudely spun 
and woven b)^ the women in the form of blankets, sails for their canoes, strings 
for their bows, and netting for feather-work. Some of their feather-work is 
quite beautiful. They make a kind of cloth of the bark of a tree, called uni, 
which serves for dress and for covering at night. 

" They celebrate the anniversaries of the death of their parents or friends 
with most doleful an-d unhamionious songs and wailings, which are enough to 
put the timid traveler to flight. This mourning or lamentation is chiefly per- 
formed by the women, under a tent oiiilc bark. Some perform the ceremony 
walking backward and forward for the distance of about one hundred yards, 
in the following manner : they advance four or five steps, and then fall flat on 
their chest and face, with a force apparently great enough to kill themselves, 
repeating the same barbaric ceremony until the night closes. Some paint 
their faces with achiotc or tile, and, though tlicy exhibit some skill in this, 
most arc rendered liorriblc from the operation. They are all very much ad- 
dicted to strong drinks, and when a dram is given them they exhibit great sat- 
isfaction, and endeavor to return some article which their situation enables 
them to give ; but this is done on the moment, and the favor is soon forgotten. 

" They appear kind, and exert themselves to please strangers who may visit 



/ 



360 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

their huts ; for, though there are among them some bad and disorderly Indians, 
yet there are very few who will offer any violence to the traveler, principally, 
however, on account of the fear in which they stand of their chiefs, to whom 
they pay great deference. For any fault of obedience or any crime they are 
severely punished, so that traders may carry on their traffic with little fear of 
insult or injury. They are fond of dances, for which they provide fermented 
liquors of cane-juice and yuca in great abundance, and when the day fixed 
upon arrives, a great number of families collect, all having their faces fantas- 
tically painted. When they are gathered, two designated dancers open the 
ceremony, appearing suddenly from the depths of the forest, where they are 
previously hidden, dressed in palm leaves, and painted of various colors. 
These extraordinary figures enter a square covered with pacaya leaves, where 
they dance a whole day, joined by many people. Meanwhile, most of the 
guests remain in or about the hut of their host, drinking eagerly the ferment- 
ed liquors, which, being strong, soon upset them, producing violent vomiting. 
Upon recovering a little, and the sun somewhat declining, the males form 
their dance apart from the women, making use, as instruments of musie, of a 
dull-sounding drum, and of some great, hoarse-sounding pipes of hollow reeds, 
the noise of which is frightful, accompanied by some small pipes, to the meas- 
ure of which rude instruments the musicians as well as the people dance until 
nine or ten o'clock at night. The women, also apart, commence their dance 
at eight o'clock at night, and continue vmtil five in the morning. They form 
a right line, each taking the hand of the other, occasionally separating and 
shaking a rattling gourd, to the sound of which, accompanied by a low chant, 
they dance. It can hardly be said that any of these dances are worth seeing ; 
but it is certain that, in spite of their extravagance, they do not fail greatly to 
amuse the civilized spectator. ■i^' 

" Some of these Moscos (Mosquitos) raise a few mares, and some cows, be- 
sides which they have a little commerce with Belize, from which place are 
brought a little clothing, iron pots, guns, axes, and other articles, which are 
carried to different points in the valley of Pantasma, the old Look-out, and 
to the town of Talpeneca, where they are exchanged for calves of one or two 
years old, which are carried in balsas (rafts) down to the coast. 

" The chief or ' king' who at this time governed these savages was a man 
of small stature, thin, with an aquiline nose, dark color, descended from Xi- 
caque and Mosco ancestors, and had some education. His residence was 
generally upon the banks of the river. He was hospitable to the voyagers, 
inviting them to his hut, and feasting them to the best of his ability while they 
remained with him. He also insisted on all who were fond of aguardiente 
(rum) to drink until they could not move, on pain of being regarded as want- 
ing in consideration to him. 

" Cape Gracias a Dios unfortunately has no commerce, but it has a favor- 
able and picturesque situation. It has in front a salt lake of large capacity, 
which is separated from the ocean by a strip of land covered with mangroves, 
opening from the sea upon the south, where vessels may enter to reach the 
town or settlement. The coast is here occupied by Moscos and Sambos. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 361 

among whom arc one or two Englishmen. One of these is named Stanislaus 
Thomas Haly, who has about one hundred head of cattle, with some mares 
and saddle-horses. The climate at this point is healthy, as is also that of the 
valley of the river, for in all my journey I saw but one sick person. 

" Of the islands on the coast I have no personal knowledge. In returning 
from the cape I was occupied twenty days. Mr. Haly assured me that a road 
might he opened hy which the journey from the cape to this point might be 
made in six days. He also stated that, in his opinion, at a cost of ten thou- 
sand dollars, the few difficulties in the river, which obstruct the transportation 
of commodities, could be removed." 

The coast of Central America bordering on the Caribbean 
Sea, from Bluefields Lagoon (seventy miles north of San Juan) 
to Cape Cameron, some distance to the north and westward of 
Cape Gracios a Dios, has long borne this somewhat vague geo- 
graphical designation, "Costa del Mosquito," or Mosquito Shore. 
The name was always purely geographical, and never conveyed, 
or was intended to convey, any idea of political separation from 
the rest of Central America. Nor is the name derived, as has 
been supposed, from the abundance of the insects called mosqui- 
toes, but from a horde of Sambos, or mixed Indians and negi-oes, 
which has sprang up there, called Ifoscos by the Spaniards, I- 
Moustics by the buccaneers, and Mosquitos by the English. 
These barbarians never occupied the whole of this coast, but 
were always confined to a narrow strip of the shore in the neigh- 
borhood of Sandy Bay. 

This coast, as I have already had occasion to observe, is, for 
the most part, alluvial. The climate is moist, warmer than that 
of the interior, and not as salubrious, although, in the latter re- 
spect, it is entitled to rank as liigh or higher than any of the 
West India islands. Besides the rivers Wanks and Escondi- 
do, it is traversed by several other large streams, rising in the 
table-lands of Nicaragua and Ilondm-as. Toward their sources 
these are rough and rapid, but as they approach the ocean they 
lose their turbulent character, and flow majestically'mto the sea. 
Some of these have formed large salt-water lakes or lagoons at 
their mouths, which constitute very good harbors for vessels of 
light draught. The greater part of the country is fertile, and 
capable of producing in the greatest abundance cotton, sugar, 
coffee, indio-o, rice, and tobacco. It has also immense savannas 



362 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

or open fields covered with grass, which are well adapted to pas- 
turage and the raising of cattle ; and almost inexhaustible sup- 
plies of mahogany, cedar, rosewood, and other valuable timbers 
may be obtained on the coast and in the neighborhood of the 
streams.* Roberts assures us, also, that, back from the rivers, 
there are broad, sandy plains, covered with fine pines, some of 
them large enough for the masts of ships. These fine savannas, 
he adds, much resemble the pine lands of North Carolina. The 
cays, bays, and islands near the coast abound in turtle, and 
their shells have always been the chief article of export from 
the shore. 

The geography of the Mosquito Shore is very imperfectly 
known. Upon the coast, however, there are several very good 
harbors, and positions capable of easy settlement. Bluefields 
Lagoon derives its name from a Dutch pirate named Blauvelt, 
who had his head-quarters there during the predominance of the 
buccaneers in these seas. It is a considerable body of water, 
some thirty or forty miles in length, and almost completely land- 
locked. There is a bar at its entrance, with but fourteen feet of 
water, but within the bar it has from four to six fathoms. The 
great river Escondido, and some smaller streams, flow into it. 
The lands bordering on these rivers are said to be extremely fer- 
tile, and capable of producing all the staples of the tropics. 

* The following passage is from a Memorial on the Mosquito Shore, prepared 
by the Council of State of Jamaica, and transmitted to the Board of Trade and 
Plantations in 1773 : 

" The climate of the Mosquito Shore is milder than any in the West India isl- 
ands, and the air is more salubrious ; the lands are every where well watered, and 
every where fertile. The soil is rich in an uncommon degree. The necessaries, 
and even the luxuries of life, present themselves on all sides. The rivers, lagoons, 
and sea abound in excellent fish, and the coasts afford the greatest number of ex- 
cellent turtle, both for food and the shell, of any country of equal extent in the 
world. The cotton-tree, cacao, and vanilla flourish spontaneously all oVter the 
country. Indigo, too, is a native, and seems to be the same Vvfith that of Guate- 
mala, which is accounted the best of any. The sugar-cane here arrives at as great 
perfection as in any of the islands ; and of mahogany and sarsaparilla the quantity 
exported annually is so great as to render the settlement already an object of no 
small importance to the commerce of Great Britain — no less than 800,000 feet of 
the former, and 200,000 pounds of the latter, exclusive of 10,000 pounds of tortoise 
shell, having been shipped to England in 1769. The banks of the rivers and la- 
goons are equally well adapted to the growth of logwood as any part of Honduras ; 
and we have reason to think that there is here enough to supply all Europe." 



MISCEJ.LANEOUS NOTES. 363 

Thirty miles to the north of Bluefields is Pearl Cay Lagoon. 
It affords a tolerable harbor for small vessels, but ships of large 
size can not pass the bar at its mouth. A considerable river, 
the Wawashaan, falls into this lagoon. The country around it 
corresponds generally with that in the neighborhood of Bluefields. 
Thirty miles farther to the northward, a large river, the Rio 
Grrande, flows into the sea. It has a dangerous bar at its mouth, 
but when this is passed, it is said that it may be navigated by 
small boats for a distance of a hundred miles into the interior. 
Farther to the northward are the Prinzapullia, the Tongla, Brack- 
ma, Wava, Duckwara, and some other considerable streams. 
Next in order is the Rio Wanks at Cape Gracias a Dios. Above 
this cape, Carataska and Brus Lagoons, and the Patuca and Rio 
Tinto, or Black River, are the most striking geographical feat- 
tures of the coast.* 

It has already been intimated that but a very small portion 
of the Mosquito Shore is inhabited or occupied by what are call- 
ed the Mosquito Indians. These are few in number, and are 
composed chiefly of Sambos (?'. e., negroes crossed with Indians), 
and of the children of Jamaica traders, captains and crews of 
coasting vessels, by Indian, negro, or Sambo women. The ne- 
gro element in this extraordinary mixture was introduced by the 
slaves from a vessel wrecked nearly two hundred years ago at 
Cape Gracias a Dios, by runaway slaves from the Spanish dis- 
tricts, and by the slaves which came with the settlers from Ja- 
maica, at the time when England attempted to take possession 
of the coast, about the middle of the last century. At first 
these hybrids were confined to the vicinity of Sandy Bay and 
Cape Gracias, t but afterward, with the aid of the pirates and 
Jamaica traders, established themselves farther to the south- 

* "A great part of this coast," says Roberts, "is overflowed during the rainy 
season, and it is possible for a canoe to pass at that period, by inland navigation, 
from Para Lagoon and Wava rivers. This is the case, generally speaking, with all 
the low savanna land from Pearl Cay Lagoon and the Cape, and thence to Plantain 
River." 

t Robert Hodgson, who was sent out by Governor Trelawn>_7, in 1740, to excite 
these Indians against the Spaniards, reports that the territory occupied by them 
was eighty leagues in length, from Cape Gracias southward. The extension to 
Pearl Cay and Bluefields Lagoon took place subsequently, and was effected through 
English aid. 



364 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

ward, at Pearl Cay and Bluefields Lagoon. But thej never oc- 
cupied any portion of the coast below the point last named, al- 
though it is not to be doubted that they occasionally accompa- 
nied the English buccaneers in their descents upon other portions 
of the Spanish Main. 

The entire number of these people does not probably exceed 
two thousand, certainly not three thousand. In the estimates 
heretofore made, the pure Indians (Woolwas, Tonglas, Cookras, 
etc.) have been included, with the view of giving the Mosquitos 
an importance which they do not possess. But these Indians 
do not recognize what is called " Mosquito authority," and have 
always been in a state of hostility with the Sambos. 

The true Mosquitos are principally established at Bluefields, 
Pearl Cay, Prinzapulka, Rio Grande, Sandy Bay, and Cape Gra- 
cias. Their character and habits at Cape Gracias have been 
impartially described by Colonel Irias, whose account is equally 
applicable to the entire stock. From their indiscriminate inter- 
course with the traders and others, as from the tota^ absence of 
marriage relations, they have contracted a leprous taint, similar 
to that which has diseased and is destroying the Sandwich Isl- 
anders. For this reason, as also from the detestation in which 
they are generally held, the Indian tribes of the interior permit 
no intermixture with them, visiting with death, it is said, indi- 
viduals guilty of such intercourse. The nature of their social 
relations may be inferred from the account of Roberts, an En- 
glish trader on that coast, whose prejudices naturally inclined 
him to favor these proteges of Great Britain. His work was 
written in 1827. He says : 

" I have never known a marriage celebrated among them. These engage- 
ments are mere tacit agreements, sometimes broken by mutual consent. The 
children here and at Bluefields [which, it will soon be seen, is the royal cap- 
ital] are, in general, baptized by the captains of trading vessels from Jamaica, 
who, on their annual visit to the coast, perform this ceremony, with any thing 
but reverence, on all who have been born during their absence ; and many of 
them are indebted to these men for more than baptism. In proof of this, I 
could enumerate more than a dozen acknowledged children of two of these 
captains, who seem to have adopted, without scruple, the Indian idea of polyg- 
amy to its fullest extent. By this licentious and immoral conduct they have, 
however, so identified themselves with the natives as to obtain a sort of mo- 
nopoly of the sale of goods. They have also insinuated themselves into tho 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 365 

good graces of some of the leading men, so that their arrival is hailed with 
joy by all classes as the season of festivity, revelry, christening, and licen- 
tiousness." 

This free and easy relationsliip is even now but little altered, 
for Macgregor, in his statement of the Mosquito question, pre- 
pared and published under order of Parliament in 1849, makes 
the following confession, which illustrates, incidentally, the origin 
and natui'e of British influence on the coast : 

" In the Mosquito Shore a plurality of mistresses is considered no disgrace. 
It is no uncommon circumstance for a British subject to have one or more of 
these native women at different parts of the coast. They have acquired great 
influence through them," etc. 

From the frequent mention, of late years, of a personage styled 
the "King of the Mosquitos," some portion of the public may 
have fallen into the error of supposing that wdiat are called the 
Mosquito Indians do reaUy recognize and obey some such po- 
tentate. Nothing could be farther from the truth. No form of 
government ever existed among these people except such as was 
vested in their local head men or chiefs, who have often been at 
variance and in open hostility among themselves. Some of 
these have assumed the title of governor, others of general, ad- 
miral, etc., without, however, having the slightest comprehension 
of the meaning of the terms. Thus, at the time of Roberts's 
visit, a chief called Governor Clemente was recognized as head 
man over the coast from Pearl Cay Lagoon to Sandy Bay ; and 
another, styled General Robinson, held authority in the vicinity 
of Cape Gracias. When the English superintendent at Belize 
found it convenient to manufacture a king on the I\Iosquito 
Shore, a number of these head men were got together, and, by 
liberal appliances of ram, induced to aflix their marks to a pa- 
per, which was afterward produced as an " act of allegiance" to 
a Sambo selected for the purpose by tlie English agents. But 
the chiefs neither understood what they did nor regarded it aft- 
erward. The fiction, however, answered its purpose, as will be 
seen in another place, when we come to speak of the British 
pretensions on the ]Mosquito Shore. 

Since the Eno-lish agents have come to reside here permanent- 
ly, Bluefields has been selected as their place of abode. Roberts • 



f 



366 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

says of this place that, when he was there, it was "under the 
influence of two young men, who claimed affinity to the late 
British superintendent," and that, "although it was not acknowl- 
edged as such hy the British government, it might truly be con- 
sidered a British settlement." What has become of "the two 
young men" is not known ; but Bluefields is now the residence 
of the supposititious " King of the Mosquitos." It is described 
as follows in the English paper published at BeKze, which, of 
course, makes the most of it : 

" Bluefields is the capital of Mosquitia. It is situated on the river and la- 
goon of the same name. In the midst of the palms bordering the river is the 
residence of the king, and his English tutor or guardian, over which floats the 
British flag At some distance from this is the House of Justice, which is 
under the Mosquitia flag. Says Macgregor, ' An ensign and standard for the 
Mosquito nation was sent to the country from England.' In October, 1847, 
Bluefields and its dependencies contained 599 inhabitants, of all ages, of which 
111 were whites, and 488 blacks. These occupied two villages, the largest 
of which is Bluefields proper, containing 78 houses ; the lesser, ' Carlsruhe,' 
the Prussian colony, consisting of 92 souls, occupying 16 houses. Very few 
of these houses are built of boards ; but one of this kind is the residence of 
Mr. Walker, diplomatic agent and consul general of England, with whom his 
Mosquito majesty resides. There is neither church nor priest in the place ; 
but Mr. Green, an English doctor, reads some passages from the Bible on 
Sundays, m the House of Justice." 

The Mosquitos have no settlements except immediately upon 
the coast. The interior country is occupied by a number of 
tribes, generally, if not universally, recognizing the Spanish au- 
thorities, and, to a greater or lesser extent, using the Spanish 
language. Between Bluefields and San Juan are the Bamas, 
who are said to be a mild, inoffensive people, having little com- 
munication with the other tribes. Upon the Escondido, or Blue- 
fields Biver, are situated the Cookra and Woolwa Indians, of 
whom, however, little is known except that they entertain a hos- 
tility toward the Mosquitos, originating at the time when the 
latter, in concert with the people of Jamaica, made forays into 
their territories for the purpose of capturing prisoners for slaves. 
Between the Ram as and Wool was and the San Juan Biver is a 
tribe, or fragment of a tribe, called the Melchoras. Byam, an 
English traveler, asserts that they are Caribs, who were driven 
by the English pirates from the islands on the coast, and who 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 367 

retreated thence to this secluded portion of the main land. He 
adds that they have a great dread of the English, and will hold 
no communication with the whites unless previously assured 
that there are no English among them. Upon tlie Rio Grande 
and the Prinzapulka, and to the northward of the Woolwas and 
Cookras, are tlie Toacas and Payas Indians. Above these, and 
occupying the country in the direction of Carataska and Brew- 
er's Lagoons and the Patuca River, are Caribs, or, as the name 
is here pronounced, Kharibees, from the Leeward Islands. They 
extend to Truxillo, and constitute part of the inhabitants of that 
port. They are held in dread by the Mosquitos, and have made 
a greater advance in civilization than any of tlie other tribes on 
the coast. There are some other tribes, including those ancient- 
ly called the Xicaques, Pantasmas, Tahuas, Gaulas, Izijes, Mo- 
tucas, &c., who are scattered over the territory intervening be- 
tween the coast and the mountainous regions of the centre of 
the continent. None of these hold intercourse with the Mosqui- 
tos, or recognize their authority ; nor can they be included in 
any estimate of the population of what is facetiously called the 
"Mosquito kmgdom." 



368 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



B. 

{Note to Chapter VII.) 
THE BAY ISLANDS, 

The islands in the Bay of Honduras, as I have already had oc- 
casion to say, are of great beauty, salubrity, and fertility, as well 
as important from their geographical position, and the possession 
of large and secure ports. These circumstances give peculiar 
significance to the fact that, on the 17th of July, 1852, a proc- 
lamation was issued by the superintendent of the British estab- 
lishment of Belize, declaring that " her mo^t gracious majesty 
the Queen has been pleased to constitute and make the islands 
of lioatan, Sonacca, Utilla, Barharetta, Helena^ and Moral to 
he a colony^ to he hnoion and designated as ' the Colony of the 
Bay Islands.'' " This proclamation was issued, as will be seen 
from its date, nearly two years after the formal promulgation of 
the convention of Washington of July 4, 1850 (known as the 
" Clayton and Bulwer Treaty"), which provides, among other 
things, that '■Hhe governments of the United States and Great 
Britain, neither the one nor the other, shall ever occupy, or 
fortify, or colonize, or assume or exercise any dominion over 
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, the Mosquito Shore, or any part of 
Central A.mericcc.''^ It may be added here that the organiza- 
tion of these islands as a British colony attracted the attention 
of the Congress of the United States. The committee of For- 
eign Relations of the Senate, after a full consideration of the 
subject, reported '■'■that the islands of Roatan, Bonacca, TItilla, 
etc., in and near the Bay of Honduras, constitute part of the 
territory of the republic of Honduras, and therefore form a 
part of '-Central America;'' and, in consequence, that any oc- 
cupation of these islands hy Great Britain toould he a viola- 
tion of the treaty of July 5, 1850." 

The disregard of solemn treaty obligations, not less than the 
invasion of the territorial rights of Honduras, involved in the 
seizure and occupation of these islands by Great Britain, justify 
me in departing from the general design of this memoir so far 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 369 

as to give an outline of the events "wliich led to this extraordi- 
naiy result. 

Bonacca, then called Guanaja, was discovered by Columbus 
on his fourth voyage, in 1502. He took possession of it on be- 
half of Spain, and subsequently discovered, and in like manner 
took possession of, E,oatan. 

Among all maritime nations, and at all periods, discovery has 
been understood to convey the title of sovereignty ; and, there- 
fore, these islands, and these coasts of the continent, were uni- 
versally recognized as pertaining to the dominions of Spain. 
She remained in undisputed possession of them until the swarm- 
ing of the buccaneers, when the Gulf of Mexico and the Carib- 
bean Sea became infested with piratical hordes. A great ma- 
jority of these freebooters were Englishmen — not Malays nor 
Bornese ; their vessels were of British build — not awkward jimks 
and open prahus. Nor was there any fleet, or self-constituted 
neighboring rajah ready, with British officers and seamen, to 
inflict a terrible chastisement upon them by wholesale butch- 
eries, as in the case of the Saribas Dyaks. On the contrary, 
they were openly aided by the English of Jamaica, who, with 
scarce an exception, were either pirates or the accessories of pi- 
rates. Jamaica at this time was supported by the buccaneers, 
and it is notorious that its governors themselves became asso- 
ciated with their leaders, and shared their plunder. So scan- 
dalous became the conduct of some of them, that the crown, al- 
though little disposed to disturb a system which contributed so 
largely to its wealth and revenues, was compelled to remove 
them. "The King of England," says the pirate Esquemeling, 
uTiting in 1670, "to satisfy the Eang of Spain, recalled some 
governors of Jamaica ; but this did not prevent the pirates from 
doing as before." 

Not satisfied with their depredations on the sea, the pirates, 
emboldened by success, made descents upon the land, and cap- 
tured, pillaged, and burned almost every accessible city or town 
on the Spanish Main. They organized a system of land piracy, 
in many respects more terrible than that which they had prac- 
liccd on the ocean. They made excursions into Costa Kica, 
Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala, as well as in the frontier 

Aa 



370 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

provinces of New Granada and Mexico. They even made per- 
manent stations at various secluded places on the main land and 
on the adjacent islands, where thej rendezvoused after their va- 
rious expeditions, to divide their spoils, refit, and organize for 
new adventures. Bluefields and Cape Gracias a Dios on the 
Mosquito Shore, and that part of Guatemala now called Belize, 
were favorite localities with these outlaws. Bluefields and Be- 
lize "both derive their very names from pirate chieftains. 

It can readily be supposed that the island of Roatan, with its 
safe and excellent harhors, fine climate, and abundant supplies, 
could not long escape the attention of the cut-throat rovers. An 
English detachment of that honorable fraternity made a descent 
upon it as early as 1642, and at the same time captured Guanaja 
and the neighboring islands. " These positions," says the his- 
torian Juarros, "were exceedingly advantageous to them, and 
proportionately injurious to the Spaniards, because, being near 
the main land, the English (pirates) were enabled to make their 
descents whenever they pleased, and with equal facility inter- 
cept the commerce between the kingdom of Guatemala and 
Spain." The annoyance from this source finally became so se- 
rious, that the Viceroy of Guatemala, the Governor of Havana, 
and the President of the Audiencia Real of San Domingo, united 
in fitting out an expedition to expel the English from this strong- 
hold. The expedition consisted of four ships of war, under the 
command of Francisco Villalva y Toledo, who endeavored to 
surprise the pirates, but failed in the attempt. He found the 
harbors fortified, and was obliged to bear away to the main 
land for re-enforcements. He subsequently returned, and. in the 
month of March, 1650, after some hard fighting, succeeded in 
driving: the freebooters from the island. 

The Spanish regained possession only to find it a waste. 
The few natives which the pu-ates had spared and reduced to 
slavery were too much afraid of theu' return to remain on the 
island, and emigrated to the main land, where the government 
allotted them lands. The island, thus abandoned, seems to have 
remained deserted until 1742, when the English entertained and 
attempted the project of obtaining possession of the whole of the 
Atlantic coast of Central America. In furtherance of this plan. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 371 

thej forcibly seized upon several important points of the main 
land, captiu-ed Traxillo, and made establislunents and erected 
forts at the mouth of Black River. They also occupied Roatan, 
and fortified it with materials earned off from Honduras. These 
events, in conjunction with others, led to a war with Spain, 
which lasted until 1763, when a treaty was concluded, the sev- 
enteenth article of which provided that '■'■his Britannic majesty 
shall cause to be demolished all the fortifications which his sub- 
jects have erected in the Bay of Honduras^ and other j^laces 
of the territory of Sj)ain in that j) art of the world, loithinfour 
inonths,^^ etc., etc. The forts at Black Eiver and at other places 
were accordingly evacuated early in 1764. But, in violation of 
the treaty, the English seem to have continued then- occupation 
of Roatan. They also kept up relations of an improper nature 
with the Indians on the coast, and engaged largely in smuggling, 
and in other employments closely allied to piracy, which so ex- 
asperated Spain, that in 1780 she once more declared war. In 
this year the authorities of Guatemala again expelled the En- 
gKsh from Roatan. The treaty of peace of 1783, with, it would 
seem, a special reference to these islands, provided not only that 
the English should abandon the continent (except a certain well- 
defined territory, in which they might cut logwood, and nothing 
more), but '■'■all islands whatever dependent uijon it.'"' The 
English evading the stipulations of the treaty, Spain insisted on 
more stringent terms, which were incoi-porated in the treaty of 
1786, by which it was provided that the EngHsh should " evac- 
uate the country of the Mosquitos, as loell as the continent in 
general, and the islands adjacent, loithout exception.''^ Noth- 
ing could be clearer or more expUcit than this ; and it seems 
that, failing to find any means of evading the provision, England 
did really abandon not only these islands, but the whole coast. 
The provisions of this treaty were suspended by the war of 
1796, wheri England, still covetous of these valuable islands, 
again occupied them, and constituted them the penal settle- 
ments of the much-injured natives whom their cruel rapacity 
had spared in St. Vincent and the other Leeward Islands. Two 
thousand of these, it seems, were located upon Roatan ; but, as 
soon as the invasion became known in the capital of Guatemala, 



372 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

tlie captain general directed the Intendant of Honduras to effect 
its resubjugation. Accordingly, Don Jose Rossi j Rubia, well 
supported bj officers and men, was sent to the island, which, on 
the 17th of May, 1797, quietly surrendered. This seems to 
have been the final attempt of the English during that century 
forcibly to seize upon these islands, which thenceforward remain- 
ed in undisputed possession of the Spanish crown. 

The stringent prpvisions of the treaty of 1786 were revived 
and incorporated in a new treaty between England and Spain, 
which was concluded August 28th, 1814. The treaty, in its 
terms, was word for word the same with that which we have 
quoted, and excluded England '■'-from the country of the Mos- 
quitos, the continent in general, and the islands adjacent, with- 
out exception.'''' This treaty was therefore in full force and ef- 
fect, and the Spaniards in undisputed possession of the island, 
when, in 1821, the Central American provinces threw off their 
allegiance to the Spanish crown. Up to that time England had 
acquired no shadow of a title, by conquest or otherwise, to the 
island. Four times she had attempted to seize it by force, and 
had been as often expelled. She had finally, and as late as 
1814, by solemn treaty bound herself utterly to abstain from 
any farther attempts at occupation. At this time we have the 
testimony of a British officer, Captain Henderson, in command 
of the forces at the establishment of Belize, that the island was 
in the occupation of Spain. " The island of Roatan, as has 
been jpreviously remarked, belongs to Spain, and a military 
station is retained on it.''''* 

At the time of Central American independence, Roatan and 
the neighboring islands were dependent upon and under the ju- 
risdiction of the province of Honduras. When that province 
assumed the rank of a state, the republican authorities, as a 
matter of course, took possession of these islands. They passed 
within her jurisdiction, and were occupied by her without dis- 
pute or hinderance fi'om any quarter. Her title to them was 
clear and unquestioned, and she exercised over tliem freely all 
the rights of sovereignty. 

This state of things continued after Honduras entered the 

* Henderson's Account, etc., p. 204. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 373 

Federal Eepublic of Central America, until j^Iay, 1830, at which 
time the Britisli superintendent of Belize, who had become em- 
bittered against the republic in consequence of its refusal to 
sun-ender certain runaAvay slaves, in a fit of anger and revenge 
made a descent iipon Eoatan, and seized it in behalf of the Brit- 
ish crown. At this time the states of Central America were 
united, and not to be outraged, as now, with entire impunity. 
The federal government made an immediate and energetic re- 
monstrance to the British government, by whom the act was 
formally disavowed, and the islands abandoned by the invaders. 

From this time until 1841, the island appears to have remained 
in the peaceful occupation of the people and government of Hon- 
duras, although it is not to be doubted that tlie superintendents 
of Belize, who seem generally to have had a proclivity t6 piracy, 
in virtue of their office, were constantly on the watch for pre- 
texts to add Roatan to their usurpations on the coast ; but the 
rights of Honduras had been too distinctly and too often recog- 
nized to admit of being set aside. It was not until 1838 that 
any pretext was afforded them for putting their designs in effect. 

In that year, a party of liberated slaves from the Grand Cay- 
man Islands came to Roatan to settle. The commandant, 
Don Juan Bta. Loustrelet, who was stationed at Port Royal 
with a sergeant's guard and a number of convicts, informed 
them that foreigners desiring to settle on the islands were re- 
quired by the laws of Honduras to apply to the state govern- 
ment for permission. A portion of emigrants made the requi- 
site application, but another portion refused to do so, and at 
once applied to the Superintendent of Belize, Colonel ^Vlexan- 
der Macdonald, for his support. This officer shortly after made 
Ids appearance in the British sloop-of-war "Rover," landed for- 
cibly at Port Royal, ran down the Central American flag, and 
hoisted that of Great Britain. No sooner had he re-embarked 
than the commandant again put up the flag of Central America, 
whereupon Macdonald again went on shore, seized the command- 
ant and his soldiers, and carried them over to the main land, 
threatening them with death if they ventured to return.* 

* The particulars of this outrage are thus gleefully related by Young; 

"A British sloop-of-war appeared off the port ; a boat full of men was dispatched 



374 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

THus, in time of peace with Honduras, whose authority over 
Roatan the British government had distinctly recognized, that 
island was again forcibly seized by the officers of Great Britain. 
The Republic of Central America had in the mean time been dis- 
solved, and the State of Honduras was too feeble and too much 
distracted by internal factions to make any resistance to this 
most flagrant aggression. It nevertheless protested energetic- 
ally against the invasion, but its communications do not appear 
to have been answered. Macdonald, in the interim, had made 
himself so obnoxious to all the Central American states that the 
British government found it politic to remove him. This was 
done in 1843, when Colonel Fancourt was appointed in his 
place. This gentleman, it is presumed, was instructed to pre- 
serve greater moderation than his predecessor ; at any rate, the 
government of Honduras thought the occasion favorable to re- 
new its representations concerning the unjust and piratical seiz- 
ure of Roatan. It therefore addressed a letter to Colonel Fan- 
court, complaining of Macdonald's conduct, and requesting the 
immediate surrender of the island ; to which that officer repKed 
in polite but general terms, evading aU responsibility by refer- 
ring the latter to the British government. The result was an 
instruction forwarded to Mr. Chatfield to acquaint the govern- 
ment of Honduras that when Colonel Macdonald hauled down 
the flag of that state in Eoatan, it was hy order of the British 
government. 

Of course this was untrue, for the seizure was Macdonald's 
own affiiir ; but the British government, by this declaration, as- 
sumed the responsibility of the act. This step seems to have 
been taken for the purpose of screening an over-zealous officer ; 
for it seems incredible that Great Britain cherished the cold- 

to the shore, the Central American flag hauled down, and that of Old England 
planted in its place. Shortly after the vessel set sail, the commandant pulled 
down the English colors and hoisted his own, which was no sooner observed than 
the vessel put back, and landed a party of seamen and marines. The Central 
American flag was lowered, and two or three of the middies amused themselves by 
dancing on it. The commandant and his soldiers, notwithstanding his vociferous 
protestations, were put on board the vessel, and had the mortification of seeing, on 
their departure, the meteor flag of Old England waving in the breeze. They were 
landed on the beach at Truxillo, with a few gentle hints as to their future behav- 
ior " — Young's Narrative, p. 147. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 375 

Wooded design of robbing Honduras of these portions of her ter- 
ritory, in the face of her own treaties of 1786 and 1814, and her 
own disavowal of the seizure of the islands in 1830. The as- 
sumption of the responsibility of ]Macdonald's misdeeds did not 
necessarily imply that Great Britain pretended to territorial 
rights in the islands ; but, kept in awe by thi-eats, blockades, 
and other violent measures, on frivolous pretexts, Honduras hes- 
itated to reassert her authority, and confined herself to the only 
resort of a weak power, remonstrance and protest. 

In the mean time, attracted by the superior resources of E,oa- 
tan, considerable numbers of the Cayman Islanders abandoned the 
impoverished soil of the Caymans, and established themselves 
here, so that in the course of a few years, the population, by in- 
crease and emigration, amounted to upward of a thousand. For 
some time they appear to have been without any form of govern- 
ment, livuig in very primitive style ; but with the increase of in- 
habitants they organized a kind of council, and elected its mem- 
bers fi-om among themselves. This condition of things did not 
escape the watchful eye of the Belize superintendent, who, as 
the Cayman Islanders were British subjects, failed not to dis- 
cover here some kind of pretest for assuming the control and 
sovereignty of the islands. He seems to have informed the in- 
habitants at various times that, as EngHsh subjects, he should 
be glad, if they desired it, to nominate magistrates in the island 
to keep the peace between them ; that he did not claim the au- 
thority to interfere in their local affau's, but that he was wiUing 
to do so on their application to that effect. It would appear, 
however, that the islanders preferred to elect their own magis- 
trates, the principal of whom was a ]\Ir. Fitzgibbon, a citizen of 
the United States. It was not until the commencement of the 
year 1849 that, having been properly instructed in their role^ 
they "applied" to Colonel Fancourt "to estabhsh a regailar 
form of government in the island!" How far this "appHca- 
tion" was brought about by the English agents it is not neces- 
sary to inquire; it was certainly a very adroit and plausible 
way of consummating the violence of ]\Iacdonald. 

Colonel Fancourt thereupon recommended to the inhabitants 
to choose twelve representatives to form a Legislative Assem- 



376 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

hlj for the enactment of laws, etc., subject to his veto. He 
nominated five magistrates, but in a short time the people grew 
dissatisfied with their conduct, and elected others. The super- 
intendent declared that this was an encroachment on the pre- 
rogative of the crown, and, unless they submitted to his nom- 
inees, he should withdraw her majesty's protection. They re- 
spectfully informed him that, he being a non-resident and unac- 
quainted with the qualifications of individuals, he ought to allow 
them the privilege of electing municipal authorities. The in- 
habitants were then divided into two parties, one of which was 
desirous of being taken under her majesty's protection. They 
drew up a petition, soliciting the appointment of a stipendiary 
magistrate, pledging their honor to raise a sufficient revenue to 
pay his salary and contingent expenses. 

The state of afiairs existing at this time, i. e., 1850, is thus 
described by Captain Mitchell, E-.N., from which it appears that 
neither the people themselves nor the British government re- 
garded Koatan as under British authority. . 

" The people aver that they are quite ignorant under what g-overnment they 
are placed, and whether her majesty's Superintendent at Belize has any au- 
thority over them ; they are desirous of knowing in what position they are 
regarded. Some discontented people, such as are found in all communities, 
have poisoned the minds of others, inducing them to collect together and ap- 
point magistrates in opposition to those recommended by his excellency the 
superintendent of Belize. 

" At times the island has been (from their not knowing their exact posi- 
tion, and from the influence of the discontented) without any sort of gov- 
ernment, every man fearing for himself and what he possessed. Such was 
the state of things when I arrived ; they have now elected magistrates, from 
universal suffrage, to act until the pleasure of the Governor of Jamaica shall 
be known, to whom they have sent a petition." 

The history of this petition is somewhat remarkable. There 
being two parties, one favorable, and the other opposed to Brit- 
ish protection, it became necessary for the former to make their 
petition as imposing as possible. To this end, the names of the 
children at the school of the Wesleyan Mission were all added 
to the list. This precious document was sent to the Superin- 
tendent of Belize for transmission to the British Secretary of 
State for the Colonies. In consequence, Captain Jolly, of the 
British navy, was sent to Roatan by Sir Charles Grey, Colonial 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 377 

Secretary, to ascertain of the inhabitants (the 1500 or 2000 ne- 
groes aforesaid) whether, if the government appointed a paid ma- 
gistrate in the island, they would consent to pay a land-tax of a 
sliilling an acre to the British crown. To this proposition, com- 
mended by the guns of a vessel of war, and a variety of other 
arguments equally potent, it is not at all sm-prising that the ne- 
groes gave their consent. 

A new superintendent of Belize, Colonel P. E. Wodehouse, 
who qualified himself for his position as the accomplice of Tor- 
rington in Ceylon, had in the mean time been appointed. One 
of his earliest acts was to visit Roatan in person. He proceed- 
ed there in her majesty's brig of war Persian, and calling to- 
gether a convenient "general meeting," on the 10th day of Au- 
gust, 1852 (more than two years after the ratification of the 
convention of Washington of July 4th, 1850), formally occupied 
E,oatan and the adjacent islands on behalf of the British crown, 
and declared them annexed to the superintendency of Belize, 
under the style of the " Colony of the Bay Islands." 

This outline of the political history of these islands reveals a 
system of aggression on the rights and sovereignty of Hondu- 
ras unparalleled for its persistency, and terminating in a series 
of frauds which approach the sublime of effrontery. The brutal 
force of Macdonald was consummated by the frauds of Wode- 
house ; and these splendid islands are at this day held by Great 
Britain in disregard of treaty obligations, and on pretexts so 
bald and fallacious that they serve only to render conspicuous 
the crimes which they were designed to conceal. 



378 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



C. 

(Note to Chapter XII.) 
ABORIGINES OF HONDURAS. 

It would appear from the early records that the northwestern 
portions of Honduras, bordering on Guatemala, and including 
the valley of Sensenti, of Copan, and a part, if not all, of the River 
Chamelicon, were in the occupation of civiKzed nations. The 
name of Calel or Kalel, which they gave to their chiefs, and 
the fact that their language belongs to the same stock with the 
Quiche, Kachiquel, Maya, etc., proves that they pertained to the 
same great family of semi-civilized nations which spread over 
Guatemala, Chiapa, and Yucatan. But, in respect to the rest 
of Honduras, our information is not so clear. The chroniclers 
speak of a number of barbarous nations as existing in the wide 
region embracing the coast from the Rio Aguan (or Roman) to 
that of San Juan de Nicaragua (subsequently designated as the 
Mosquito Shore), and extending inland as far as the plains of 
Olancho or Ulancho. Among the tribes who inhabited this re- 
gion, and who were relatively savage and barbarous, the Xi- 
caques and Payas are constantly referred to as the principal and 
most powerful. These names are still retained by the Indians 
who occupy the country lying between the Rio Ulua and Cape 
Gracias a Dios. The Xicaques, greatly reduced, exist in the 
district lying between the Rio Ulua and Rio Tinto, and the 
Payas in the triangle between the Tinto, the sea, and the Rio 
Wanks, or Segovia. It seems probable that the Xicaques were 
once much more widely diffused, extending over the plains of 
Olancho, and into the Department of Nueva Segovia, in Nica- 
ragua. 

The question then arises. What nations inhabited the country 
between the Chortis of Sensenti and the Nahuals of San Salva- 
dor on the one hand, and. the barbarous nations of Totogalpa 
and Tegucigalpa on the other ? In other words, what nations 
occupied the present Department of San Miguel, in San Salva- 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 379 

dor, and those of Santa Barbara, Comayagua, Choluteca, and 
part of Tegucigalpa and Yoro, in Honduras ? 

No explicit answer to this inquiry can he found in the early 
histories, but recent investigations may serve to clear up any 
doubts on the subject. 

That this district of country was occupied by a homogeneous 
people is primarily indicated by the names of places which have 
been retained from the period of the conquest. The present 
Department of San ]\Iig'uel was called Chajmrristique when it 
was invaded by Alvarado, and we find this termination tique 
constantly recurring in the names of places, such as Lepaterique, 
Llotique, Ajuterique, and Jaitique, from the Gulf of Fonseca 
northward to the Lake of Yojoa or Taulebe. 

Within this district there are a number of towns which are 
wholly inhabited by Indians, who possess more or less of their 
original language. These towns are all situated in the momit- 
ains of Lepaterique and Guajiquero, embracing Lauterique, Gua- 
jiquero, Opotero, Cacauterique, Similiton, Yamalanguira, Yu- 
cusapa, and the large town of Intibucat. I succeeded in ob- 
taining a short vocabulary of the dialect of Opotero from an In- 
dian of that town whom I encountered in Comayagua. I also 
obtained another of the dialect of Guajiquero, which place I vis- 
ited in June, 1853, and subsequently a brief one in the town of 
Yamalanguira, two leagues to the westward of Intibucat, and 
close upon the district of the ancient chiefs of Sensenti. I aft- 
erward obtained a list of the numerals used by the people of Si- 
militon, together with a few words and phrases, from a gentle- 
man of Tegucigalpa, who in his youth had spent some time in 
that town. It appears, from a comparison of these vocabularies, 
that they are all dialects of a single language. The Guajique- 
ros pronounced their language the Lenca^ and as \ye find the 
JLenca Indians constantly refciTcd to in the accounts given by 
the early missionaries of their expeditions in Honduras, I have 
adopted this name to designate both the Indians who occupied 
the district under consideration and their language. 

jMost of tlie missionaries who sought to penetrate the regions 
of the Xicaques and Payas first went to Comayagua, where they 
are almost always spoken of as employing Lenca Indians to as- 



380 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

sist them in their expeditions. Thej accompanied Verdelete 
Avhen he went through Olancho, Iby way of the Eio Guyape, 
into the country of the Xicaques in 1608. This leads us to 
conjecture that the Xicaques may possibly have been of the 
same stock with the Lencas, and speaking dialects of the same 
language. This conjecture derives support from the expressions 
used by Juarros, in his account of the reduction of the province 
of Tegucigalpa. He says that in 1661 the l*aya Indians fre- 
quently plundered the small settlements contiguous to their ter- 
ritories, and that the Xicaques committed depredations in the 
valleys of Xamastran and Olancho. This led Captain Bart, 
de Escoto, one of the proprietors of Olancho, to lead an expedi- 
tion into the Indian country, which he did, bringing away "sev- 
eral Indians, whom he settled in such places as he deemed most 
convenient." He then, "with three Lenca Indians,- went to 
Guatemala in search of a minister." The person recommended 
to him by the President was the friar " Fernando de Espino, a 
learned ecclesiastic, who, being a native of New Segovia, a town 
bordering on the lands of the Xicaques, was well acquainted 
with the Lenca language.''^* 

Indeed, it is not improbable that dialects of a common lan- 
guage were spoken by all the aboriginal tribes lying between the 
Bay of Honduras and the great transverse valley of the Nicar- 
aguan lakes, excepting those who inhabited the low, or lagoon 
country on the Atlantic coast, now called the Mosquito Shore, 
and who seem to have had little affinity with the families of the 
interior. Thus the Indians in the district of Chontales, in Nic- 
aragua, living on the banks of the great river Escondido, of 
whom Mr. Froebel obtained a short vocabulary in 1851, have a 
few words in common with the Lencas. These Indians are now 

* The Bishap Pelaez, who, however, is very loose in his statements generally, 
gives an account of these circumstances, in which he speaks of the " damages 
caused by certain tribes of Payas known as Jicaques ;" and says that it was " tres 
de estos infideles" {three of these infidels) who accompanied Escoto to Guatemala. 
He also speaks of the Fra Espino as reaching the Parakas Indians of the Lenca 
nation." According to Juarros, we may legitimately infer that the Xicaques and 
Lencas were of one family, or, at least, spoke one language ; and, from the state- 
ments of the bishop, that the Xicaques and Payas are of one stock. From both we 
may deduce, what is probably not far from the truth, that all belonged to a single 
group. 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 381 

called Wool was (probably theGaulas orWaulas of Juarros, and 
the TJluas of Pelaez). Their Avord for water is vmss or wash^ 
and enters into tlie name of one of the rivers in their territories, 
a branch of the Escondido, viz., Bosioash or JBoswass. In the 
Lenca, water is guass, tcas/i, or guask. In the Lenca, house or 
hut is taoo or ta/m ; in the Woolwa, it is u or hu. The word 
wass or huas also enters into the names of some of the rivers in 
the district of the Payas, as Amacwass, Wass~2?resenia, the des- 
ignations of tributaries of the Eiver Patuca. 

The inhabitants of the Atlantic coast of Central America, at 
the period of the discovery, from Punta CastiUa de Honduras 
(anciently Pimta Casinas or Caxinas) to Chiriqui Lagoon (the 
Abuerma of Columbus), were completely savage. This coast, 
as I have already said, is for the most part low, hot, and un- 
healthy, and traversed by innumerable lagoons and creeks, af- 
fording conditions only favorable for tribes of hunters and fish- 
ers ; and such, in fact, was the character of the Indians found 
there by the early voyagers, and such they have remained to 
this day. The same causes which deteiTcd the semi-civilized 
nations of the Pacific declivity, of the continent, and of the inte- 
rior table-lands, from occupying this coast, operated to prevent 
its settlement by the Spaniards, and have retained it within the 
dominion of untamed nature. 

As I have said in a preceding chapter, this coast was discov- 
ered by Columbus in his fourth voyage, in 1502. He coasted 
along it from Punta CastiUa to Darien, and, from the concise but 
clear accounts which have been preserved of his voyage, we are 
able to obtain very accurate notions of the character and condi- 
tions of the inhabitants. 

The first land discovered by Columbus in this voyage, after 
leaving Jamaica, was that of the island of Guanaja, the eastern- 
most of a group lying in the Bay of Hondm-as, and within sight 
of the main land, wliicli were long known as the Gucmajas. 
He reached this island July 30, 1502. Don Bai-tolome Co- 
lumbus was sent asliore, where he found a large canoe, " as long 
as a galleon," covered with an awning, and laden with commod- 
ities, such as cloths of cotton of various colors, a species of jack- 
et without sleeves, swords made by inserting flints in the edges 



382 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

of pieces of wood of the proper shape, copper axes, crucibles for 
melting copper, and the beans of cacao, " which were used as 
money." Columbus dismissed the people, excepting an old 
man, who seemed to be " more discreet" and better informed than 
the others, named Jionhe, whom he reserved as an interpreter 
and guide. Being shown gold, this Indian pointed out the main 
land, the mountains of which were within sight, as the region 
where it could be found. 

This Indian, it may here be observed, is called a " merchant" 
in the chronicles, and Herrera ventures the remark that he was 
returning from Yucatan when discovered by Columbus. 

There can be no doubt that the inhabitants of the Guanajas 
constituted a single family, considerably advanced in civiliza- 
tion, and probably pertaining to the same stock with those oc- 
cupying the main land, between Punta Castilla westward to the 
Gulf of Dulce. Diego de Porras, in his account of the voyage 
of Columbus, describes them as of "fine stature, warlike," but 
modest and retiring in their demeanor. The island itself is de- 
scribed by Peter Martyr as "so flourishing and fruitful that it 
might seem an earthly paradise." 

Columbus reached Punta Caxinas on the fourteenth of Au- 
gust, and formally landed and took possession of the country on 
the seventeenth of the same month. This is the point which 
shuts in the bay, at the head of which Truxillo was afterward 
founded. The people found there are described as similar to 
those of the Guanajas. They were dressed in a like manner, in 
cotton cloth, and had a species of armor, like the Mexicans, made 
of quilted cotton, which was so thick, as we are assured by Fer- 
nando Columbus, as often to resist the strokes of the Spanish 
swords. There are reasons for believing that the aboriginal in- 
habitants of the region immediately around Truxillo were con- 
nected with those who dwelt to the westward and in the interior 
of the country, including the great valleys or plains of Olancho, 
where there were two important provinces governed by powerful 
chiefs, who had jurisdiction over the coast at Truxillo. Of the 
character and habits of the Indians here we have but little infor- 
mation. Herrera tells us that when Salcedo was appointed gov- 
ernor of Ybueras (Honduras), he applied himself to "know the 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 383 

religion, customs, and capacity of the Indians of that province." 
He found three principal idols worshiped in the vicinity of Trux- 
illo ; one in a temple four leagues firora that town, another twenty 
leagues distant, and a third on an island fifteen leagues distant.* 
They had all the shape of women, made of a variety of gi'een 
stone like marble." They had also other idols and places of 
worship where they offered sacrifices. The high-priests at each 
of the three principal temples could not marry. They wore their 
hair long, reaching to their waists. Salcedo farther testified that 
" the people were not so polite as the Mexicans," and that they 
" differed little from those of Hispaniola." 

After leaving Punta de Caxmas, Columbus proceeded east- 
ward along the coast, and a few days afterward landed at the 
mouth of a great river, where he again took possession of the 
country, calling the river, fi:om this circumstance, liio de la Po- 
session, now Rio Tinto, or Black River. The Indians here and 
to the eastward "had not great foreheads like the islanders." 
They spoke several languages, tattooed themselves in various 
ways, and had, moreover, "great holes in the lobes of their ears, 
through which an egg might pass," whence he named tliis coast 
"Za Costa de la Orej a," the Coast of the Ear. Fernando Co- 
lumbus, in his History, distinguishes the inhabitants here and 
along the whole coast to the eastward from those at Punta Cax- 
inas. He says: "But those to the eastward, toward Cape 
Gracias a Dios, are almost negroes, beastly, going naked, in all 
respects very rude, eating, according to the Indian Jumbc, hu- 
man flesh, and fish raw, as they happen to be caught." Pon-as 
correctly describes the coast as " tierra muy haja^^'' very low 
land, inhabited by a very savage people. 

On the fourteenth of September, after great difficulties, result- 
ing from adverse winds and currents, Columbus reached a cape 
whence the coast trended abruptly to the southward, which he 
called, in token of thankftilness, Cabo G-racias a Dios, Cape 
Thanks to God. He found here a large river entering the sea, 
and he sent a boat to examine it, which was upset, and some 
sailors lost, whence he called it ll'to del Pesastre, River of the 

* The island here referred to was probably that of Guanaja, where, as we have 
elsewhere seen, aboriginal monuments of considerable extent are still to be found. 



384 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

Disaster. He says nothing about the inhabitants whom he 
found here, but the inference is very distinctly conveyed by 
Fernando Columbus that they differed in no essential respect 
from those of the Costa de la Oreja. He describes the deten- 
tion of the ships, and the difficulties which they encountered 
until the twenty-fifth of September, when they reached an island 
called Quriviri, where there was a town on the main land called 
Cariai. Here, he says, the land became higher, and "there 
was a better country." Columbus named the coast here, from 
the town on the main land, Cariai or Cariai/. In his letter to 
the Spanish sovereigns he speaks of the inhabitants as fishers, 
and as "great sorcerers and very terrible." Upon landing, he 
found several large wooden houses, thatched with palms, which 
were sepulchres. In one of these was a dead body embalmed, 
^'' embalsariiado ;'''' in another were two bodies, all "without 
bad odor," carefully wrapped in cotton cloth and mats. Over 
these bodies were tablets of wood, carved with various figures 
of animals and other objects, and on some " were representations 
of the dead." The people had some ornaments of native gol^d 
and instruments of copper. They were tattooed. Their lan- 
guage was difficult, and the different towns had different dia- 
lects ; "but while this was the case among the savages of the 
coast," Columbus thought "it otherwise among the people of 
the interior." Herrera distinguishes the people of Cariay from 
those to the northward, and describes them as like the inhabit- 
ants of CasteUo del Oro, which was the early designation of the 
country from Chiriqui Lagoon southward to the Gulf of Uraba. 

From Cariay Columbus proceeded on his course until he reach- 
ed Zerahora (now Boca del Toro), which was close to Abuer- 
ma (now Chiriqui Lagoon). Here the people had plates of gold 
like those of Cariay, and, it would seem, spoke a cognate lan- 
guage, since, in the words of Herrera, " they showed no fear, 
because the two Indians of Cariay spoke to them." These Ca- 
riay Indians are also spoken of as persuading those of Abuer- 
ma to give up their golden ornaments. 

From all these facts, it appears that Honduras was anciently 
occupied by at least four distmct families or groups of aborig- 
ines : 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 385 

I. The Chortis of Sensenti, belonging to the same great group ^ 
with the Quiches, the Kachiquels, Mayas, etc., and occupying 
what is now the Department of Gracias. 

II. The Lencas, less advanced in civilization, and, under the ^ 
various names of Chontals, and perhaps Xicaques and Payas, 
occupying what is now the Department of San Miguel in San 
Salvador, of Comayagua, Choluteca, Tegucigalpa, and parts of 
Olancho and Yoro in Honduras, including the islands of Ro- 
atan, Guanaja, etc. 

III. Various tribes intervening between the Lencas proper 
and the inhabitants of Cariay, or what is now called the Mos- 
quito Shore ; and, 

IV. The savages who dwelt on the Mosquito Shore, from 
near Carataska Lagoon southward to the Rio San Juan, and 
who then spoke, as they still speak, a language entirely distinct 
from the dialects in use among the Indians of the interior, to 
whom they were in no respect equal. 

Bb 



386 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 387 







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388 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 



THERMOMETRICAL AND BAROMETRICAI 


OBSERVATIONS— 1853.- 


-{Continued.) 






6 A.M. 


12 M. 


3 P.M. 1 


Place. 


Date. 






1 




Barom. 


Ther. 


Barom. 


Ther. 


Barom. 


Ther. jWind.j 


Santa Rosa. 


July 10 


26.170 


67.5 


26.210 




26.220 


72. 




u 


11 


26.250 


68. 






26.250 


73. 


N. 


u 


12 


26.230 


68. 


26.200 


72.5 








(( 


13 


26.210 


67. 


26.210 


72.5 








« 


14 


26.200 


70. 






26.200 


75. 




C( 


15 


26.200 


68. 


26.200 


71.5 








(( 


16 


26.200 


68. 






26.150 


72.5 




« 


17 


26.151 


68. 






26.150 


74. 




(( 


18 


26.200 


68. 












San Salvador. 


Aug. 11 


27.60 


70. 












a 


12 


27.575 


71. 


27.600 


79. 








u 


13 


27.590 


76. 


27.600 


75. 


27.550 


79. 




(( 


14 


27.580 


74. 


27.550 


78. 








a 


15 


27.570 


73. 


27.571 


80. 








a 


16 


27.570 


74. 












(( 


17 


27.580 


74. 


27.550 


80. 








(i 


18 


27.570 


74. 












(( 


19 


27.590 


75. 












a 


20 


27.580 


75. 






27.550 


82. 




a 


21 


27.570 


76. 












a 


22 


27.560 


76. 


27.570 


81. 








a 


23 






27.570 


78. 








li 


24 


27.57 


74. 












(( 


25 


27.56 


76. 












a 


27 


27.60 


76. 












(( 


28 


27.56 


76. 













MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 389 



E. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

In the Geographical Introduction to this memoir, I have re- 
ferred to this Appendix for the subjoined chronological list of 
the hooks and pamphlets relating, in whole or in part, to Cen- 
tral America, all of which are in my possession, or have been 
consulted hy me in the course of my investigations. 

Journey over land from the Gulf of Honduras to the Great South Sea, performed 
by John Cockburn and five other Englishmen, etc., etc. London, 1735. 

Voyage from Honduras to Merida, etc., by Lieutenant Cook. London, 1769. 

Account of the British Settlements on the Mosquito Shore, vol. v. of Bryan Ed- 
wards's History of the West Indies. London, 1773. 

Full Answer to the King of Spain's last Manifesto respecting the Bay of Hon- 
duras and the Mosquito Shore, its ancient Free British Settlement and Importance 
to Great Britain. London, 1779. 

Memoir on the Mosquito Territory, by Captain John Wright, R.N. 

London, 1808. 

An Account of the British Settlement of Honduras ; being a view of its Commer- 
cial and Agricultural Resources, Soil, Climate, Natural History, etc. ; to which is 
added. Sketches of the Manners and Customs of the Mosquito Indians, preceded by 
the Journal of a Voyage to the Mosquito Shore. Illustrated by a Map. By Cap- 
tain George Henderson, 44th Regiment. London, 1811. 

Some Account of the British Settlements on the Mosquito Shore, drawn up from 
the Manuscripts of the late Colonel Hodgson, etc. Edinburgh, 1822. 

Sketch of the Mosquito Shore, including the Territory of Poyas, etc., by Thom- 
as Strangeways, K.G.C. Edinburgh, 1822. 

Bosquejo Politico Estadistico de Nicaragua, por Miguel Gonzales Saravia, Gen- 
eral de Brigada. Guatemala, 1824. 

Journal of Dr. Laragnino from Omoa to Guatemala, British New Monthly Maga- 
zine, No. 60, December, 1825. 

Memoirs of Mr. William Veith and George Brysson, etc., edited by Dr. M'Crie. 

Edinburgh, 182.'). 

A Statistical and Commercial History of the Kingdom of Guatemala, in Spanisli 
America, etc., etc., by Don Domingo Juarros, a native of Guatemala. Translated 
by John Baily, R.M. London, 1825. 

On the Practicability of joining the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans by a Siiip-canal 
across the Isthmus of America, by Robert B. Pitman. London, 1825. 

Six Months' Residence and Travels in Central America through the Free States 
of Nicaragua, and particularly Costa Rica, giving an interesting account of that 
beautiful Country, etc., etc. By J. Hale. Published for the Author, and sold by 
W. Borrodaile, 114 Fulton Street. New York, 1826. 

[A resume of this sketch was made by Mr. Worden, and printed in French, in 
Paris.] 



390 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

Narrative of Voyages and Excursions on the East Coast and in the Interior of 
Central America, etc., by Orlando W. Roberts, many years a Resident Trader. 

Edinburgh, 1837. 

Bridges's Annals of Jamaica, chapter xiii., vol. ii. London, 1828. 

Guatemala, or the United Provinces of Central America in 1827-8, etc., by Hen- 
ry Dunn. New York, 1828. 

An Official Visit to Guatemala, etc., by G. A. Thompson, Esq., Commissioner 
to Report to his Britannic Majesty's Government on the State of the Republic of 
Central America. With a Map. London, 1829. 

Raise naar Guatemala in 1829. Central-America beschouwd uit aan geschied- 
kundig en statisk oogpunt. J. Haefkens. Dordrecht, 1832. 

Memorias para la Historia de la Revolucion de Centro America, por un Guate- 
malteco (Jose Montufar). Jalapa (Mexico), 1832, p. 257. 

Coup d'CEil sur la Republique de I'Amerique Centrale, etc., accompagne d'une 
Carte. Par MM. Dumartray et Rouhaud. Paris, 1832. 

On the Communication betv?een the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, by way of 
Lake Nicaragua, by Caleb Phillips, R.N. Journal of the Royal Geographical Soci- 
ety of London, vol. iii. (1833), p. 375-280. 

[Galindo, John, an Irishman, who entered the sei-vice of the old Republic of 
Central America about the year 1827, received the rank of colonel in the army, wa:s 
governor of the Department of Peten in Guatemala, subsequently named repre- 
sentative of the republic to the court of St. James, but was refused recognition on 
the ground of being a British subject, and was finally killed in an Indian town in 
Honduras. He was far from being a close observer, nor was he a man of large in- 
formation. He nevertheless was industrious, and gave the world many interesting 
facts, coupled with crude speculations, on the states of Central America and the 
country in general. After Juarros, he was, I believe, the first to direct public at- . 
tention to the ruins of Copan. He wrote :] 

Description of the Rio Usumasinta, in Guatemala, dated Flores, Lake Peten (or 
Itza), March 12, 1832 ; with Map. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society 
of London, vol. iii., p. 59-64. 

Notice of the Caribs in Central America, by Colonel John Galindo, a single 
page (290), Transactions of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. iii., 
1833. 

Account of the Eruption of the Volcano of Coseguina, in Nicaragua, on the 17th 
of January, 1835, by John Galindo. Transactions of the Royal Geographical So- 
ciety of London, vol. v. (1835), p. 387-392. 

On Central America (containing a general Description of the Country, and an 
Account of Costa Rica). With a Map ; by John Galindo. Journal of the Royal 
Geographical Society of London, vol. vi. (1836), p. 116-136. 

The Ruins of Copan, in Central America, by John Galindo, dated Copan, June 
19, 1835. Transactions of the American Antiquarian Society, vol. ii., p. 543-550. 

Narrative of a Journey to Guatemala, in Central America, in 1838, by G. W. 
Montgomery. New York, 1839. 

Memoire sur le Guatemala, et le Colonisation du Departement de Vera Paz. 

Bruxelles, 1840. 

Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas, and Yucatan, by John L. Ste- 
phens, 2 vols. New York, 1841. 

America Central. Reclamacion de la Intervencion del Colonel Alejandro Mac- 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 391 

donald, Superintendente de Belize, eu el Colonel Manuel Quijano, Administrador 
del Puerto de San Juan del Norte. Leon, 1842. 

Defcnza de los Derechos del Pais, en los Cuestioncs promovidas por el Consul 
de su Majestad Britannica, etc. Leon, 1843. 

Memoria sobre el Fuego de los Volcanos de Centro America, por Miguel Larrey- 
naga. Guatemala, 1843, p. 77. 

Eferaerides de los Hechos Notables acaecidos en la Republica de Centro America, 
desde el aiio de 1821 hasta el de 1842, por Alejandro Marure, etc. 

Guatemala, 1844. 

Excursion to the Lake of Nicaragua, up the Rio San Juan, by George Law- 
rence, Assistant Surveyor of H. M. S. Thunder, Nautical Magazine, 1840-41. 

Sketches of the East Coast of Central America, from Notes of Captain Richard 
Owen, etc., by Captain Bird Allen, R.N., Journal of the Royal Geographical Soci- 
ety of London, vol. xi. (1841), p. 76-98. 

Account of the Province of Vera Paz, in Guatemala, and of the Indian Settle- 
ments therein, by Padre Fr. Alonzo de Escobar, Journal of the Royal Geographical 
Society of London, vol. xi. (1841), p. 89-97. 

Notes on Lake Nicaragua and Province of Chontales, by Chevalier Emanuel 
Friedricksthal, Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. xi. 
(1841), p. 97-100. 

On the Isthmus between Lake Granada (Nicaragua) and the Pacific Ocean. By 
John Baily. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. xiv. 
(1844), p. 127-128. 

Notes on the Gulf of Mexico, Rio Tampico, and its Vicinity, and on the Rio 
Tobasco. With a Map. By Peter Masters, Seaman, of Liverpool. Journal of 
the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. xv. (1845). 

Bericht iiber die im hochsten Auftrage Seiner Koniglichen Hoheit des Prinzen 
Carl von Preussen und Sr. Durchlaucht des Herrn Fiirsten v. Schoenburg-Wald- 
enburg bewirkte Untersuchung einger Theile des Mosquitolandes, etc. 

Berlin, 1845. 

Canal of Nicaragua, etc., by N. L. B. (Louis Napoleon Bonaparte). 

London, 1846. 

Narrative of a Residence on the Mosquito Shore, with an Account of Truxillo, 
and the adjacent islands of Roatan and Bonacca. By Thomas Young. 

London, 1847. 

Documentos en que se funda el Derecho, que el Estado de Nicaragua tiene al 
Terretorio, que se disputa con la p^oteccion de el Gobiemo Ingles. Leon, 1847. 

Travels in Central America, etc., by R. G. Dunlop. London, 1847. 

Memoria dirijida por el Ministerio de Estado y de Relaciones de Nicaragua, a la 
Asamblea Constituyente del mismo Estado, sobre los Derechos Territoriales del 
propio pais en la Costa del Norte, llamada Mosquitos, por Pablo Buitrago. 

Leon, 1847. 

Documentos Interesantes sobre el Atentado Cometido por algunos Ingleses res- 
identes en Bluefields, usurpando con mano armada el Puerto de San Juan del 
Norte, etc. San Salvador, 1848. 

Manifesto que el Supremo Gobiemo del Estado de Nicaragua hacc a los Gobier- 
nos de America, sobre el Tratado celcbrado con el Comandante Ingles Sr. Gran- 
ville Loch, etc. Por Jose Guerrero, Presidente, 1848. 

^^' ild Life in the Interior of Central America, by George Byam. London, 1849 



392 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 

Coup D'CEil rapide sur la Republique de Costa Rica, par F. M. (Felipe Molina). 

Paris, 1849. 

Panama, Nicaragua, and Tehuantepec ; or, Considerations on the Question of 
Communication between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. By Captain W. B. Liot. 

London, 1849. 

Auswanderung und Colonisation im Interesse des deutschen Handels. Der 
Freistaat Nicaragua und seine Wichtigkeit fur den Welthandel, etc., etc. Von A. 
von Biilow. Berlin, 1849. 

The Gospel in Central America, etc., by Frederick Crowe. London, 1850. 

A Statistical Account and Description of the Island of Roatan, by Commander 
R.C. Mitchell, R.N. United Service Magazine, 1850. 

Central America, describing each of the states of Guatemala, Honduras, San 
Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, etc. By John Baily, Esq., R.M. London, 1850. 

The Mosquito Question, etc., by E. G. Squier. American Whig Review (New 
York), February and March, 1850. 

The Great Ship-canal Question, etc., by E. G. Squier. American Whig Re- 
view, November, 1850. 

Volcanoes of Central America, and the Geographical and Topographical Features 
of Nicaragua, etc. : an address before the " American Association for the Advance- 
ment of Science," proceedings of Tenth Annual Meeting, 1850. 

Tigre Island and Central America, Executive Document No. 75, First Session 
of Thirty-first Congress. Published by order of the House of Representatives 
(1850). 

Extracto de una Relacion sobre el Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala, Kecha por el 
Ingeniero Don Luis Diaz Navarro, en 1745. Guatemala, 1850. 

Enquete sur la Colonic de Santo Tomas, par Blondeel van Cuelebrouk, avec 
Cartes. Bruxelles, 1850. 

Rapport sur la Situation de la Colonic de Santo Tomas, par M. Cloquet. 

Bruxelles, 1850. 

Souvenirs de I'Amerique Centrale, par H. de T. d'Arlach. Paris, 1850. 

Canal from Lake Nicaragua, along the Rio Sapoa, to Salinas, by A. S. Oersted, 
of Copenhagen. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. xxi. 
(1851), p. 96-99. 

Centro-Amerika, nach gegenwartigen, etc., etc , von C. F. Reichardt. 

Braunschweig, 1851. 

Bosquejo de la Republica de Costa Rica, etc., por Felipe Molina. 

New York, 1851. 

Dispatches of E. G. Squier, United States Charge d'Affaires, concerning the dif- 
ficulties between Great Britain and San Salvador. Published by order of the Sen- 
ate of the United States, Executive Document No. 43, Second Session of Thirty- 
first Congress (1851). 

Report of the Survey of a Route for the proposed Nicaragua Ship-canal, from 

San Juan del Norte on the Atlantic, to Brito on the Pacific. By O. W. Childs. 

C. E. New York, 1852. 

Central America and the Crampton and Webster Project, by E, G. Squier. New 

York Democratic Review, November, 1852. 

The Islands in the Bay of Honduras ; their seizure and organization as a British 
Colony. By E. G. Squier. Democratic Review, December, 1852. 

Correspondence relative to the claims of Great Britain on the Mosquito Coast, 



MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 393 

and in the Territories of Honduras or Yucatan, Executive DocumeiU No. 37, Sec- 
ond Session of Thirty-second Congress (1853). 

Documeritos Relativos a la Cuestion Mosquitos, etc., por Don Francisco Gastil- 
lon. San Salvador, 1852. 

Nicaragua ; its People, Scenery, Monuments, and the proposed Inter-oceanic 
Canal, with numerous original Maps and Illustrations. By E. G. Squier, etc., etc. 
2 vols. New York, 1852. 

Memorias para la Historia del Antiguo Reyno de Guatemala, redactadas por el 
Ilmo. Seiior Dr. D. Francisco de Paula Garcia Pelaez, Arzobispo, etc. 3 vols. 

— Guatemala, 1852. 

Report of Committee of Foreign Relations of the Senate of the United States 
on the Establisliment of the Islands of Roatan, Bonacca, etc., as a British Colony, 
presented by the Honorable J. M. Mason. Committee Report No. 407, Second 
Session of Thirty- second Congress (1853). 

Correspondence between Mr. Marcy, Secretary of State, and Mr. Crampton, Brit- 
ish Minister, relative to the Treaty of Washington of July 5, 1850, Executive Doc- 
ument No. 13, First Session of Thirty-third Congress (1853). 

Wanderhilder aus Central-Amerika, etc., von Wilhelm Heine. Leipzig, 1853. 

Farther Considerations on the Great Isthmus of Central America, by Captain 
Robert Fitzroy, R.N. Journal of the Royal Geographical Society of London, vol. 
xxiii. (1853), p. 171-191. 

Nicaragua, nach eigner Anschauung im Jahre, 1852, etc., von C. F. Reichardt. 

Braunschweig, 1854 

'Waikna;*or, Adventures on the Mosquito Shore, by Samuel A. Bard. 

New York. 1855. 



INDEX. 



.VnoRiGiNEs of Honduras, p. 203-218 ; 
of San Salvador, 328-353 ; note on 
aborigines of Honduras, 378-385. 

B. 

Bay Islands, colony of, 62 ; political his- 
tory, 368. 

Bays: Honduras,- 17 ; Fonseca, 18,90, 
252 ; La Union, 93. 

Belize : climate, 37, 38 ; settlement, 76. 

Bibliography, 389-393. 



(Jape Gracias, 87. 

Central America : geography, 17; topog 
raphy, 18 ; centres of elevation, 19 
rivers, 17, 18, 19; lakes, 20; ports, 20 
area, 21 ; civilization , 22 ; climate, 25 
population, 21 40, 49 ; comparative 
population, 50; relative proportions 
of population, 53, 54 ; anthropological 
deductions, 54; colonization, 58. 

Comayagua : climate, 34, 35 ; popula- 
tion of diocese, 40 ; plain of, 66, 67, 
122, 245 ; department of, 120 ; town 
of, 121 ; monuments, 123 ; ruins of 
Tenampua, 123 ; valleys, mountains, 
130 ; mmerals, 131. 

Cordilleras, 18, 20, 66, 67. 

Costa Rica (state): topography, 19; 
ports, 20 ; population, 21, 44, 45 ; cli- 
mate, 26, 27, 29 ; statistics of births 
and deaths, 43 ; relative proportions of 
population, 52. 



Fountain of Blood, description of, 136. 



Guatemala (state) : climate, 25, 36, 37 ; 
ports, 20 ; lakes 20 ; rivers, 19 ; pop- 
ulation, 21, 39, 40, 44 ; statistics of 
births and deaths, 41, 42 ; relative pro- 
portions of population, 52. 

H. 
Honduras (state) : topography, 19 ; riv- 
ers, 19 ; ports, 20 ; lakes, 20 ; popu- 
lation, 21, 47, 48 ; climate, 26, 32- 
36 ; relative proportions of population, 
52 ; discovery by Columbus, 59 ; by 
Cortez, 60 ; boundaries, 61 ; islands, 
62 ; physical aspects, 63, 64 ; mount- 
ains, 65, 66, 67 ; timber, 69 : physical 
sections, 69 ; temperature, 71 ; rivers : 
Chamelicon, 73 ; Ulua, 73 ; Aguan, 
75 ; Tinto, 76 ; Black River Lagoon, 
79 ; Patook or Patuca, 79 ; Carataska 
or Cartago Lagoon, 83 ; Rio Wanks 
or Segovia, 84 ; Choluteca, 87 ; Naca- 
ome, 88 ; Goascoran, 89 ; Lake Yo- 
joa, 90 ; Bays of Fonseca, 92 ; La 
Union, 93 ; Islands of Sacate Grande, 
94 ; Gueguensi, 95 ; Tigrc, 96 ; Espo- 
sescion, 97 ; Ports of Puerto Caballos, 
100 ; Omoa, 101 ; Truxillo, 102 ; Pu- 
erto Sal, 105 ; Triunfo dc la Cruz, 105 ; 
Amapala, 106; Island of Roatan, 107; 
Guanaja, 1 13 ; Helena, Morat, and 
Barbaretta, 117; Helena, 119; De- 
partment of Comayagua, 120 ; of Gra- 
cias, 132 ; its towns and topography. 
133 ; climate, timber, minerals, 135 ; 
of Choluteca, 137 ; its towns, miner- 
als, population, 138; of Tegucigalpa, 
140 ; its towns, 1 10 ; of Olancho, 144 ; 



396 



INDEX. 



towns, topography, and trade, 144, 
145 ; of Yoro"; 146 ; its towns, 146 ; 
mountains, minerals, 147 ; plains, 148 ; 
of Santa Barbara ; towns, 148 ; plain 
of Sula, 149 ; mountains, 150 ; min- 
erals, 150; aspects of nature, 152; 
mining, 160; silver mines, 162; gold 
do., 164 ; copper do., 166 ; iron, pla- 
tina, zinc do., 167 ; opal and coal do., 
168 ; production of gold and silver, j 
169; mahogany, 172; cutting of, 1 73 ; 
trade in, 179 ; rosev/ood and lignum- 
vitffi, 180 ; dyewoods, etc., 180 ; pitch 
pine, 180; cedar, 181; other forest 
and fruit trees, 182 ; sarsaparilla and 
vanilla, 183 ; cotton, 184 ; sugar, 184 ; 
coffee, 185 ; cochineal, 185 ; indigo 
and maize, 187 ; cereals, 188 ; fauna, 
189; birds, 195; alligators, 196; 
snakes, 196 ; fish and Crustacea, 198 ; 
insects, 199; aboriginal inhabitants, 
203 ; Xicaques and Payas, 204 ; Sam- 
bos or Mosquitos, 208 ; Ca'ribs, 212 ; 
political organization, 219 ; constitu- 
tion, 220 ; religion, 225 ; education, 
227 ; revenue, 229 ; currency, 229 ; 
industry, 230 ; future prospects, 233 ; 
note on aborigines, 378-385. 

I. 

Indians : population, 48 ; relative num- 
bers, 61, 52, 53, 203-212, 323-330, 
378-385. 

L. 
Lakes, list of, in Central America, 20 ; of 
Honduras, 90 ; San Salvador, 20, 301 ; 
Guatemala, 20 ; Nicaragua, 20. 

M. 

Mahogany, in Honduras, 172. 

Mexico : relative proportions of popula- 
tion (note), 53. 

Mines and Minerals, in Honduras, 162 ; 
in San Salvador, 307. 

Mosquito Shore, 23 ; population, 48 ; cli- 
mate, 361 ; geography, 362 ; inhabit- 
ants, 363 ; customs, 364 ; Mosquito 
king, 365 ; Bluefields, 366. 



X. 

Nicaragua (state) : ports, 20 ; lakes, 20 ; 
population, 21, 45, 46 ; cUmate, 26, 29, 
30, 31 ; relative proportions of popu- 
lation, 52. 

O. 
Omoa; climate, 34; port, 101. 



Panama, isthmus, 18. 

Ports : in Central America, 20 ; in Hon- 
duras, 101 ; in San Salvador, 303. 

Poyas : provinces, 77 (note) ; Indians, 
79, 204. 

Puerto Caballos, 100, 239. 

R. 

Railway, inter- oceanic, 70, 100, 235 
proposed routes, 236 ; through Hon 
duras, 238 ; details of route, 239 
grades, 254 ; labor, materials, climate 
256 ; resources on line of road, 260 
interior navigation, 261 ; charter, 263 
comparison of routes as to distance 
266 ; as to ports, 268 ; as to safety 
277 ; chart of hurricanes, 278 ; cost 
and probable revenues, 282 ; summary 
of advantages, 293. 

Rivers, in Central America, 17, 18, 19 ; 
in Honduras, 71 ; in San Salvador, 
297. 

S. 
San Salvador (state) : ports, 20, 303 ; 
lakes, 20, 301 ; population, 21,23,40, 
46,47,295; climate, 26 ; statistics pf 
births and deaths, 41, 43 ; relative pro- 
portions of population, 52 ; area, 295 ; 
topography, 296 ; mountains, rivers, 
297 ; agricultural productions, 304 ; 
indigo, 305 ; sugar, cacao, tobacco, 
306 ; mines, 307 ; coal, 308 ; balsam, 
310 ; volcano of San Miguel, 311 ; of 
Izalco, 312 ; San Vicente and Tecapa, 
313; city of San Salvador, 315; de- 
scription of, 316 ; population, 318 ; 
earthquakes, 320 ; revenues, 323 ; ex- 
ports and imports, 324 ; political or- 



INDEX. 



397 



ganization, 325 ; aboriginal popula- 
tion, 328 ; Indians of Balsam Coast, 
331 ; Nahuals, 330 ; history of con- 
quest of, 335 ; origin of name, 342 ; 

r government and religion, 344 ; cus- 
toms, 345 ; origin, 349 ; language, 350. 

Scfovia, miscellaneous notes on, 353 ; 
gold-washings, 355 ; towns, 356 ; riv- 
ers, 358. 



Tchuantepec, isthmus, 17, 272. 

Thcrmomctrical and barometrical tables, 
386-388. 

Topography: Guatemala, 19; Hondu- 
ras, 19; Costa Rica, 19; San Salva- 
dor, 296. 

Trade winds, 27, 28. 




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